By Damali Mukhaye
Drama ensued yesterday as 40 National Unity Platform (NUP) Local Council flag bearers rejected Mr Mohammed Ssegirinya, a candidate the party has picked for Kawempe North Constituency.NUP last week, nominated Mr Ssegirinya, the current Lord Councillor representing Kawempe North at Kampala Capital City Authority, as their MP candidate in the forthcoming elections.Addressing journalists in Kampala, Mr Charles Sserubiri , the NUP coordinator in Kawempe Division, said this decision was arrived at after a series of meetings and consultation from villages and parishes across the division, who voted against him.He said Mr Ssegirinya was rejected on two grounds, citing his character and nature as one of the factors that renders him incapable for the MP seat.“We disagree with NUP over the choice of Ssegirinya as a candidate and hence flag bearer for the MP seat. We informed NUP of the situation on ground and the petition was signed by 40 of the 48 flag bearers. He is not suitable for this seat,” Mr Sserubiri said.“Going by his behaviour and character, the voters strongly believe that there is a very big disconnection in terms of capacity, capability and rationality of the candidate and the organ of Parliament,” he added. Advertisement
Mr Sserubiri also said Mr Ssegirinya represents two of the nine parishes making up Makindye North constituency and the others he represents are in Kawempe South, thereby being unpopular in Kawempe North.He said the party should revisit their decision and give the flag for the MP seat for this division to another person.They cited Mr Sulaiman Kidandala as the best candidate for this seat, vowing to support him as an Independent candidate if the party does not give him the flag in the next 24 hours.“We strongly urge the board and the appeals committee to revisit the decision for the good of our beloved party because our candidature and victory are connected to the choice of the flag bearer for an MP. Maintaining the current choice will affect the image of the party,” Mr Sserubiri said.The 40 councillors, who signed the petition protesting Mr Ssegirinya candidature were in attendance. They said Mr Ssegirinya is fit to be a comedian not an MP.“You cannot select a comedian. We have seen him rolling himself in sand and doing funny things on social media. This is unacceptable. We love the party and still subscribe to it but we are not on the same page on this,” Ms Sylvia Nakyobe, a woman councillor, Kawempe North Zone A, said.Mr Kidandala, who is the current organising secretary for NUP, told the media that he is going to contest against Mr Ssegirinya as Independent.Mr Latif Ssebaggala, the current MP who had wanted to contest for Lord Mayor but later withdrew from the contest, has since returned in the race for Kawempe North.But Mr Kidandala said: “The people of Kawempe and the councillors have decided that they cannot move with another candidate apart from me because there is a history to this. I have been part of this constituency, I have worked with them, they know my capacity, and capability and they know what I can do and what I cannot do,” Mr Kidandala said.“….However, the principle upon which the party advocates is that we must stand on the side of the people and the people of Kawempe have spoken,” he added.Mr Ssegirinya accused Kidandala for being behind the councillors’ decisions, vowing to oust him.“NUP gave me the flag because of my capabilities and what I have done for the people. I’m happy that Kidandala decided to run as an Independent candidate because I don’t want him to have an excuse after the elections that the people I contested with were weaker. I know he is emotionally unstable and he needs a counsellor to help him,” Mr Ssegirinya said.NUP leaders sayThe spokesperson of National Unity Platform, Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, said the party selected Mr Ssegirinyi as their flag bearer and they will continue supporting him.“Everyone has their own supporters and if we had given Mr Kidandala the card, Ssegirinya would also protest. But as a party, we went through a process to elect Ssegirinya and we are not going to let anyone hold us at ransom because the process for the same constituency was repeated and Ssegirinya still emerged as the winner,” Mr Ssenyonyi said.dmukhaye@ug.nationmedia.com