By Our Reporters
A Friday 21st September (late evening) facebook post by upcountry journalist Brian Luwaga sparked serious debate on his facebook wall. Luwaga casually referred to DP Vice President Mukasa Mbidde’s political meeting held that day at Tropic Inn Hotel Masaka. Among those who commented was Masaka Municipality MP Mathias Mpuuga who remarked “Masaka yalaba ennaku [wondering why people take Masaka for granted].” Then followed Mercy Nalugo Lukyamuzi with “Banange banna Masaka temutujja ku mulamwa. We want tested leaders abatalinako bbala abali reliable. So si abalya mu lulime ne mu luzise.”Loosely translated, Nalugo’s post meant: “Let no body divert us the Masaka people. We resent leaders who are double dealers in favor of those who are reliable.” Rather curiously, Lameck Kigozi a senior police officer in the Masaka area (sarcastically) criticized Luwaga for poking his nose in Masaka affairs even when he no longer practices journalism there. Nalugo later wrote: “No weapon formed against honorable Mpuuga shall prosper.” Mpuuga seemed to agree with Luwaga’s reporting that Mbidde’s meeting was a total flop because some of the leaders he invited fought for food, something councilor Ronald Kasekende disputed as untrue. Luwaga wondered how the flamboyant EALA MP would remember voters after getting elected if his handlers can mistreat them now.
THE CONTEXT: All this very polarizing online discussion was about one thing: Mukasa Mbidde’s declaration of interest to stand for the MP Seat for Masaka Municipality which Hon. Mpuuga has represented since 2011. The discussion on Luwaga’s wall indicates how controversial Mbidde’s declaration has turned out to be. At the Friday meeting, which his handlers had spent days promoting and publicizing, the DP VP also launched his Mbidde Foundation through which he is already doing charity and development activities as part of his mobilization aimed at demystifying Mpuuga. Whereas Mpuuga derives his popularity from being consistent and eloquent in criticizing Museveni’s NRM, Mbidde wants to demonstrate to voters that, whereas that is okay and expected of an opposition MP, there is a lot more that a legislator can do including materially impacting on the lives of people he represents. He says that is where he will make a difference. He is promising to be as politically outspoken against the NRM just like Mpuuga himself but also invest in initiatives aimed at economically empowering voters. The Mpuuga camp won’t have any of this. They argue that what is important for an opposition MP is to do oversight work and consistently use the platform to expose the excesses of the NRM. Mbidde is seemingly determined to walk the talk. He has created a network of newly elected LC1 executives (including those from NRM) and wants to use them to deliver development to Masaka residents. He announced at the Friday meeting, attended mostly by opinion and elected political leaders, that his Mbidde Foundation had already earmarked Shs600m to implement development initiatives. He has asked LC leaders to constitute development committees which he will be driving around launching and injecting in money. He says these launching ceremonies will also double as victory parties for the newly elected LC leaders throughout Masaka. The prospect of materially impacting on leaders’ lives risks isolating Mpuuga who some criticize for being mean and stingy when it comes to parting with his hard earned money. Henry Busuulwa, his campaign manager since 2011, is among those who have decamped. And, whereas the motivation is largely because of the material benefits Mbidde has either promised or already delivered upon, Busuulwa must find a reasonable excuse to justify why its time up for Mpuuga renowned for leading the 2011/12 walk to work protests. Busuulwa says Mpuuga, who in 2011 acrimoniously replaced old man JB Kawanga who had served since 1980, must not renege on his promise to serve for only two terms. Busuulwa says Mpuuga clearly indicated to them he would reign for only 10 years and now is the time to give way to Mbidde. Busuulwa claims that partly because of the natural political fatigue that comes with incumbency, Mpuuga is now hard brand to sell. He agrees with Mbidde that if DP fronts Mpuuga again, they will lose the position they have held onto as their own (almost without break) since 1980. Both Mbidde and Busuulwa refer to the 2016 elections when Mpuuga struggled to overcome the NRM strongman Herman Sentongo who polled 14,586 votes against the incumbent’s 17,319. Whereas this ordinarily seems to be a large margin in such this not so very large constituency, Mbidde and Busuulwa say it’s reflective of how weakened Mpuuga has become. Mbidde says having served 10 years as MP, Mpuuga has accumulated sufficient experience to make a good EALA legislator at Arusha. He says Mpuuga should prepare to replace him there rather than resisting change that is increasingly becoming inevitable in Masaka. Mbidde adds that he means well and genuinely wants to see Greater Masaka’s poor people transformed and this is the reason his Foundation is supporting communities as far as Kalangala landing sites where he has no intention to stand for MP Seat. That Mpuuga rarely entertains such discussions is something that has made it easy for a significant number of area DP leaders to buy into Mbidde’s material prosperity gospel. Some claim that without the delicate reconciliation Mbidde crafted to get the entire DP structure behind Mpuuga, there is no way Herman Sentongo’s victory was going to be stopped. Mbidde accuses Mpuuga of being ungrateful for what he did to secure his reelection in 2016. Mbidde has found willing allies among the core DPs who always preferred JB Kawanga, a conservative politician who was Museveni’s roommate at Dar es Salaam University. Mbidde claims that even the likes of Jude Mbabali, another influential DP actor, are preferring him ahead of Mpuuga because he was the architect and funder of his election as LC5 chairman. Mbidde claims he is the one who pragmatically convinced Mbabali to abandon the Bukoto Central MP bid having realized there is no way Museveni was going to allow him defeat his VP Sekandi in 2016 polls. Mbabali is yet to clearly state where he belongs between the two DP giants. Mbidde anticipates prevailing in DP primaries because of the advantages that come with being district party chairman. He is a fighter of tested credentials given the ease with which he defeated equally formidable Bukoto East MP Florence Namayanja in 2015 to become the area DP Chairman.
MPUUGA FIGHTS BACK;
Besides dismissing Mbidde as a proxy being used to undermine credible strong politicians from Buganda (he doesn’t disclose who his masters are), Mpuuga is leveraging on the People Power momentum to neutralize the Mbidde effect. The two protagonists are equally determined to ride on Bobi Wine’s back to woo voters in the municipality where Mr. Wine is naturally very popular being a town. Mbidde’s supporters have taken this a notch higher by christening him “VP KYARENGA” because he likes dancing to Bobi’s monstrous hit. Whereas Mpuuga has enthusiastically attended many preparatory meetings for the upcoming Friday 28th September rally at Masaka’s liberation square, Mbidde too has openly been mobilizing residents to come and listen to Bobi Wine who will be the day’s main speaker. Even in his Friday meeting he urged people to turn up and fill the liberation square. Mbidde has also been using Bobi’s hits in his ongoing mobilization that is clearly aimed at isolating and deflating Mpuuga ahead of DP internal elections to determine flag bearer for the Municipality. Whereas this apparent endorsement for Bobi boosts numbers for both of them, it’s something that could hurt the cohesiveness of the People Power message. As preparations escalate for the Friday rally, there are credible fears bloody fights could break out between Mbidde & Mpuuga supporters. The two camps are seriously mobilizing and Mpuuga’s camp is nervous that Mbidde won’t hesitate sacrificing a fraction of his Shs50m salary to bring in as many militant supporters as possible in order to use that reunion rally to demonstrate he has an edge over Mpuuga. The two camps rightly realize that this being Bobi’s first public rally since returning from the US, there will be plenty of media publicity which must be taken advantage of. Besides dismissing Mbidde as a proxy candidate, Mpuuga also contemptuously says “he [Mbidde] will be defeated in Masaka the way it happened in Makindye [2006] and Kalungu [2008 & 2011].” Mpuuga is also counting on like-minded Ganda politicians like Betty Nambooze, Erias Lukwago, Moses Kasibante & Semujju Nganda who historically have significant political differences with Mbidde. In his 2nd term at the Arusha-based EALA, Mbidde has always been a controversial figure with some accusing him of espionage and treacherous deal-making. “Yes he is controversial but it’s also true he has always been misunderstood and is a victim of political peers who envy his material success,” says a DP official who admits the fight between the two will leave DP very polarized in its Masaka stronghold. The official adds: “He is also an experienced fighter whose shenanigans won’t leave Mpuuga politically standing. It will either be Mbidde or a loss for both of them.” The conservative DP supporters, backing Mpuuga, say Mbidde has credibility problems and must invest heavily in cleaning his name against espionage accusations. Where he lacks trust, Mbidde compensates with growing support among local DP leaders in the Municipality. Besides Henry Busuulwa, a former Masaka deputy Mayor, Mbidde is backed by Denis Majwala Lukanga and Matia Kakooza who chair Katwe Butego and Kimanya-Kyabakuza Divisions that make the Municipality. There is also a group of councilors led by Ronald Kasekende who worship him like a god. He is also backed by a significant number of influential NRM leaders who admire his moderate approach as opposed to demonizing everything NRM stands for. Some say the wealthy Mbidde, who dismisses Mpuuga as a damaged tire that must be obliterated for the continued movement of the DP vehicle, should locate to any other constituency since he has enough financial resources to campaign and win. They say that would demonstrate genuine growth in the numeric strength of DP’s support in greater Masaka as opposed to seeking the Municipality which is already firmly liberated. DP Whip in Parliament Joseph Sewungu is another DP leader that can’t abandon his man Mbidde, a thing that only complicates things for Mpuuga. The only equalizer is that both of them are generally accused for being mean and stingy when it comes to parting with money to facilitate mobilization work. Some opposition supporters think a respected figure like the Katikkiro Peter Mayiga or even Bishop JB Kaggwa should sit these two Catholic politicians down so that one leaves the Seat for the other since the escalating fight could leave both of them politically vanquished. Mbidde seems convinced that Mpuuga isn’t someone he can do business with anymore. He is particularly angry that Mpuuga, a renowned wordsmith, has been using very abusive language (likening him to the cunning small animal locally called Kamuje) as if it’s abominable to challenge his stranglehold on Masaka Municipality. To some people the duo’s political duel is just a resumption of the 2011 political differences whereby Mbidde backed JB Kawanga against Mpuuga who back then easily sailed through riding on the Suubi platform. He had just been a well-performing youth minister in Kabaka’s government at Mengo and carried with him lots of good will. In 2016, it was easier for them working together because they shared a few things in common including a conviction that John Patrick Amama Mbabazi was the best man for Presidency. Watch this space for more updates on this feud. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
