{UAH} HOW ABDUL KATUNTU MADE KADAGA SHINE DURING THE CAPITAL GANG PROGRAM

By Mulengera Reporters 

For the last so many days, the Rebecca Kadaga camp has been represented by radio and TV show panelists and guests who were so inept to the extent that Norbert Mao used the Thursday Frontline on NBS to tell off Barnabas Tinkasimire while asserting that "you are such a lousy campaigner for your candidate to the extent that with supporters like yourself Rt. Hon Kadaga doesn't need de-campaigners like Hon Semujju Nganda there."

Faced with fanatic Jacob Oulanyah supporters like Margaret Muhanga and Ofwono Opondo on that same show, Tinkasimire had such a bad evening that even the moderator Joseph Sabiiti had pity on him. The very explosive NBS debate, largely spiced by Semujju Nganda's insightful contributions, was taking place on the very evening the leading TV channel had just released its opinion poll findings which intrigued many by revealing that Oulanyah was comfortably leading ahead of Kadaga on all parameters.

Understandably, it was a very nervous moment for Tinkasimire who Semujju Nganda cursed for publicly celebrating Kadaga for "violating the rules of Parliament" during the Togikwatako vote just to ensure Gen Museveni remained President beyond 75. It hasn't been only Tinkasimire but many other pro-Kadaga panelists have been having it rough after being faced by sharper protagonists at the different radio and TV talk shows.

KATUNTU ROARS

Until when the very eloquent Bugweri County MP Abdul Katuntu weighed in this Saturday during the Capital Gang program, the above calamity was beginning to create a false impression that all excellent debaters had shunned Rebecca Kadaga's reelection bid. Speaking immediately after his longtime ally Ibrahim Semujju Nganda, who is also vying for Speakership, Katuntu persuasively made his case defending Kadaga against what he called lies her opponents have been telling for a while. The Capital Gang had other Kadaga haters (besides Semujju) like Ofwono Opondo and Fort Port North MP Alex Ruhunda who went native asserting that Kadaga should be shunned for Oulanyah because she "has health issues and yet we don't want someone who will have to be brought in a wheel chair to come and preside over Parliament."

The very eloquent Fort Portal MP, who in 2016 vigorously de-campaigned Oulanyah for Kadaga, asserted that he has nothing personal against the Kamuli Woman MP but there was a clear understanding in 2016 that this would be her last term and the same must be honored. Ruhunda, who profusely sweated as he submitted as if he was going to blackout the next minute prompting the show's producer to give him some water, also defended Oulanyah on grounds that this country needs fresh blood and its time up for the elderly politicians like Kadaga to give way. "My candidate is courteous and respects everyone. He is prompt when it comes to time-keeping and he has never failed to enforce rules correctly," Ruhunda submitted as Semujju Nganda heckled "except on the day he invited police to evict me."

Ruhunda added: "I have no problem with Hon Kadaga who I even supported for CEC reelection last year but for Parliamentary business we need someone very energetic and that is Jacob Oulanyah. Our mama is now drunk on power and we need to rescue her. It's really strange that Abdul Katuntu can't see that," Ruhunda said before describing Katuntu as one who has no moral authority anymore to lecture anyone on good manners having gone back on his word to seek reelection as Bugweri MP after assuring everyone he was done.

Ruhunda, whose below the belt utterances Katuntu protested by refusing to respond to them, asserted he has nothing personal against Kadaga because he even elected her for CEC against Parsis Namuganza. He also marketed his man Oulanyah as energetic, courteous and respectful of other people unlike Kadaga who stands accused of humiliating Ministers. But speaking on the same show, Kagoma North MP Alex Brandon Kintu who is a diehard Kadaga supporter, asserted that some Ministers are too lazy they deserved to be barked at and humiliated Kadaga-style in order to serve the broader public interest. Ruhunda protested by wondering why Kintu can't realize that it's important for young people like him to be ambitious as opposed to cheering "these very old people who want to die in the chair."

A fire-spitting Ruhunda sweated profusely on the microphone as if he was going to blackout prompting the producer to get him cold water to calm down his nerves. He asserted that he vigorously de-campaigned Oulanyah in 2016 because he genuinely believed the gentleman's agreement which required allowing Kadaga to make 10 years just like some of her predecessors had done. He said it was morally wrong for Kadaga to renege from that understanding, the very reason the likes of Abdul Katuntu shouldn't be proud being part of her team.

"Our mother is now drunk on power and we need to rescue her. It's strange that Abdul Katuntu doesn't see that. Why should they speak as if this is her inheritance? We should help her to calm down and even Abdul Katuntu here knows she needs to go and do some other things. People shouldn't be in positions forever and young people like Brandon Kintu here shouldn't be comfortable with old people dying in the chair," Ruhunda submitted before going native on what he called Kadaga's frail health. "Parliamentary business needs a lot of energy and it's not for people with health issues. We don't want leaders who will soon be brought in a wheel chair to preside over the business of Parliament…This Abdul Katuntu I was beginning to admire him for setting the example to retire but I was shocked when he changed and came back as MP. We can't afford having leaders being stuck in one position and be there for life. Why then do we educate all these young people?"

Semujju Nganda interjected demanding that the same standard should be applied to Gen YK Museveni who is way much older than Kadaga and has been President for twice longer than Kadaga has been part of the Speaker's chambers. Ruhunda, who is among those NRMs who voted Togikwatako in December 2017, immediately defended himself: "Me as a principled Uganda, I said no and defended the principle of democracy. I have never wavered and I'm always consistent. That must apply to all leaders. Parliament shouldn't be stunted. We need young people in those positions."

Ofwono Opondo, who described Kadaga as an affront to the NRM grand plan to rule this country for 100 years, advised that "since we have tried at Museveni's level and failed, let's insist on some change at the level of Speaker of Parliament as we work out the rest."

Eloquent and taking no prisoners as ever, Opondo said Kadaga has ran her race and it's time to give way because the fact that she is acceptable to opposition groups is indicative she can't be trusted to serve the NRM interests anymore. The man from Mulanda, who also challenged Katuntu to officially join NRM since Kadaga who he considers to be a political star is the 3^rd most powerful position in the party, defended Museveni against allegations that he personally hates Kadaga. He asserted it was Gen Museveni who made Kadaga to be Moses Kigongo's Deputy in NRC after joining in 1989. He also proposed her name to chair CA along with 5 others except that other stakeholders eventually agreed on James Wapa. That it was again Gen Museveni who ensured she served as Deputy Speaker for 10 years and now Deputy Speaker for 10 years.https://mulengeranews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/MFS-Miles-Advert-1024×576.jpg

Claiming Kadaga had become so undesirable, Opondo asserted he will be surprised if the very CEC which presided over the 2016 gentleman's agreement ever endorses Kadaga for 3^rd term. Claiming that it now has to be Jacob Oulanyah because he is calm and very articulate, Opondo went as far as saying he would be more comfortable having Semujju Nganda as Speaker of Parliament than Kadaga except that the man from Bijaba in Lwengo district isn't calm and hates NRM. He referred to things like calling a court order "stupid" to illustrate why he thinks Kadaga "lacks decorum to serve as Speaker of Parliament."

Before attracting the wrath of Abdul Katuntu, with whom he almost fought with in the studio, Semujju Nganda had his go on Kadaga who he said he was now convinced can potentially be more dictatorial, draconian, vicious and intolerant than Gen Museveni. "Parliament is now a place of directives just like State House. That is what she has turned it into. It's no longer about the rules. She has become the rules herself."

Semujju said many MPs and Ministers agree with his assessment that Kadaga has long outlived her usefulness in the Speaker's office, by entrenching dictatorship and personalization of office to the levels never seen before, except that they fear reprisals should she bounce back.

"Some are saying you man you are very brave. That they are fearing Museveni might name them Ministers and Kadaga refuses to approve them in the Appointments Committee of Parliament…She causes roads to be closed just like Museveni each time she is about to arrive and then you have a policeman securing every lift as she arrives," Semujju said adding that he is nostalgic about the days of Speaker Wapa when the head of Parliament was merely respected, as opposed to being feared, and freely had a drink with his MPs besides travelling in a simple Mercedes Benz without any pompous convoys. Brandon Kintu said the anger and viciousness with which Semujju Nganda spoke was reason for him as a new MP to shun him "because this is a Speaker who can even beat us up for putting up our hands."

Opondo supported Semujju Nganda while vowing: "Nobody is too big for NRM. We had someone called Mahogany and another one called Super Minister but we trimmed all of them. And now this one saying she is the best and most vocal woman in the country, we are going to cut her down to size." Opondo added: "How do you claim to be the biggest woman in country and yet you are only vicious towards other women? I have been saying this and I'm repeating it here; I'm inviting her to a public debate to show me the women she has mentored for all these years as Kamuli woman MP and even nationally using her 20 years in the Speaker's Chambers." She is only appealing to ethnicity and the new MPs who are gullible, Opondo charged prompting Brandon Kintu to protest.

Opondo spoke for 8 minutes and refused to market his candidate Oulanyah asserting that being the incumbent, Kadaga is a legitimate target in this debate. One of the panelists wondered why NRM, for which Opondo speaks, can't realize something wrong with fronting a Presidential Candidate who never keeps his word and has always altered the Constitution to keep standing again. "How do you pin someone for reneging on mere gentleman's agreement when you serve a party and a president who can't respect even what is written in the Constitution?" the panelist fired at Opondo.

KATUNTU'S TURN

The came Katuntu's turn and the man from Idudi in Bugweri did extremely well polishing up the Kadaga image. Katuntu said the likes of Opondo are only envious of Kadaga's popularity, impartiality and track record. That the things for which they hate her are actually the very reason justifying why she remains the best for Speakership. "What they are accusing her of is what they call the independence of Parliament on which she has excelled. They want a Speaker who marginalizes members from the opposition and doesn't treat MPs equally and yet that exactly is what makes her tick and hard to beat," Katuntu asserted. "They hate her for independent-mindedness yet to many of us it's the reason she deserves to be reelected. She is simply a star performer and her performance makes their NRM is strong. She is good for that Parliament, her party and the country."

Katuntu added: "This OO and others are driven by hate for Hon Kadaga and they are supporting that other person [Oulanyah] not because he is very good but because he hates Rebecca Kadaga. That hatred is driving OO here to attack new MPs for being gullible simply because she is very popular among them. They have tried and failed to neutralize her support. I'm surprised even Hon Ibrahim here too is just against Rebecca Kadaga instead of making his point to show why he is the best."

Semujju denied this asserting there isn't any better way he can campaign than directing all the scrutiny at Kadaga who has occupied office for 10 years. "By the way Abdul you need to know there is a lot that has gone wrong which we can't even say on radio because it would embarrass all of us who belong to that Parliament."

He added; "There is a lot more that has been happening and better listen to me because I sit on level 5 where I always see MPs queuing up to go to the Speaker's office to rumor-monger about other people and you might think level 5 is where their permanent office is. MPs go there to seek personal favor because Kadaga has become the rules and Parliament itself. I was the spokesperson of her campaign in 2016 deputized by Maurice Kibalya. We used to sit in planning meetings with the likes of Betty Amongin and you can see what they are now saying. This Kadaga is different from the one of 5 years ago. Many agree with me on this but they fear reprisals from her because she has become like Museveni."

Katuntu maintained that majority leaders in NRM merely envy Kadaga because there are things which only her can do. "It's only her who can say no to certain things much as she says yes to some others. Nobody else." Katuntu also claimed that many in the top echelons of NRM were humiliated and remain angry that the genuine delegates and party leaders across the country reelected her to the office of 2^nd national vice chairperson and beat Namuganza who was a proxy candidate of the big people in the party. That this defeat deflated many and that is why they are now vicious just to humiliate Kadaga having failed last time, he said. "They are now bringing the party business within their own party to be resolved using Parliament as the platform. That is what this all thing is all about and nothing to do with Kadaga being incompetent."

Katuntu also saluted Kadaga for relaxing the restrictions her predecessor Edward Sekandi had put in place and thereby making Parliament more accessible to ordinary Ugandans than ever before. That as Speaker, Sekandi was very inaccessible to both MPs and the public. Katuntu said because of this liberalized approach, hundreds of petitions are delivered to the Speaker who willingly meets all manner of delegations and thereby enabling the voiceless to have their grievances processed and eventually discussed on the floor of Parliament.

Katuntu recalled how Kadaga entertained a petition calling for Parliamentary inquiry into the Kasese killings of 2016. That this was sensitive and no other Speaker from the ruling NRM would have entertained such a petition. That notwithstanding all her inadequacies which Semujju keeps articulating, Kadaga remains the most ideal Speaker you can have in our current circumstances.

Katuntu rejected Semujju Nganda's assertion that its unacceptable manipulation and populism for Kadaga to encourage MPs to flock to her office because the very issues they want to be addressed are supposed to be institutionally processed and put on the order paper through the Business Committee of Parliament. Katuntu rejected this asserting there is no way some of the emergency things MPs [for instance crime wave becoming rampant in a certain area or a road getting blocked in someone's constituency] can wait for consideration by the Business Committee which sits only once in two or three months to generate the order paper for the subsequent period.

"The fact that her office as Speaker is open and freely accessible to all MPs wanting to have such emergency issues discussed on the floor is actually a strength and not a weakness as Hon Ibrahim is portraying it," asserted Katuntu who also accused Semujju of deceptively accusing Kadaga of flouting the rules. "Okay you say you even took her to court for flouting the rules but did you win? Why did both Court of Appeal and the Supreme disagree with you? If I'm lying as you say, then you tell us what exactly court said to agree with you in that regard? Hon Ibrahim this is common sense and the truth is Court didn't agree with you at all," Katuntu roared as Semujju Nganda demanded to read out what the rules exactly say.

"I'm telling you there is a problem with Kadaga becoming the institution. The other day the rules committee chairman, who I'm told is a PhD holder, was saying this is the new position regarding the rules because the Speaker has directed. I rang Kadaga and she said I'm the custodian of the rules but the two are different," Semujju said.

The ugly exchange between the two FDC historicals prompted moderator Oscar Semweya Musoke to joke that Ofwono Opondo was now more of an ally to Semujju Nganda than Abdul Katuntu. The man from Bugweri also accused Semujju of lying about trips simply because he wants to demonize Kadaga. "During Sekandi's time, the Speaker's office controlled all the budget for trips but the Rt. Hon Kadaga decentralized it and the money went to the Committee Chairpersons and Hon Ibrahim knows this having been the chairman for COSASE. As Chief Whip he is part of the LoP's office and they have their travel budget which the Hon Speaker doesn't control. So, it's not right to lie that MPs frequent the Speaker's office to lobby for trips. She only controls trips related to the Parliamentary Commission and she actually deserves commendations, as opposed to ridicule, for decentralizing trips' allocation to Committee Chairpersons. That made the whole thing more transparent," argued Katuntu who Semujju said was being blinded because of his past relations with Kadaga (she was his boss in a law firm). She is also alleged to have supported him against Kirunda Kivejinja during the 2008 by-elections.

Katuntu also said the likes of Betty Amongin are now against Kadaga simply because they are ungrateful "otherwise during her time as UWOPA Chairperson, the Rt. Hon Kadaga greatly supported UWOPA; allocated them office space as Speaker and also contributed salaries for their staff. If that is not mentoring fellow women, then what is it? She has deliberately given a lot of audience to women organizations and acted on their petitions and OO calls all that acting viciously towards women who are supposed to be mentored."

Katuntu asserted that there is a lot NRM as a party, Uganda as a country and Parliament as an institution have benefited from Rebecca Kadaga's 10 years of being the Speaker. Opondo responded by asserting that he can't wait to see Katuntu end his fence-sitting and officially join NRM since Kadaga, who he considers very good, is number three in the top hierarchy. Katuntu advised Opondo to find where to hide next Saturday because by the time they return for the next edition of the Capital Gang, the Kamuli woman MP will be back as Speaker.

On Semujju's point that those attacking Kadaga ought to be understood because she is the incumbent, Katuntu said the same is bad strategy "the very reason why your opponents who you say attacked you day and night in Kira lost miserably to you and the same awaits you Hon Ibrahim on Monday." This intelligent joke by Katuntu caused Semujju to laugh at himself too.

Katuntu also defended Kadaga against Semujju's claim that she failed to defend the rules when she showed extreme fear for Museveni and allowed some MPs to withdraw their signatures during the Nebanda saga, as opposed to leveraging on the previous practice that had been established when Wapa prevented the likes of Patrick Kiggundu from withdrawing their signatures off the Jim Muhwezi censure motion.

Katuntu asserted the Kira Municipality MP was confusing himself on legal matters for no good reason, something Semujju Nganda furiously protested. He said Katuntu, the opposition veteran he has known and learnt from all these years, must be ashamed being a praise-singer for someone who caused MPs to be beaten by the military leaving them with broken spines like was the case with Betty Nambooze. "Abdul you are lucky you weren't beaten that day and the independence you are praising Kadaga about must be seen and manifested in actions as opposed to just proclaiming it on microphones. I'm really disappointed in you Abdul. The woman for whom those NRMs even brought a motion to thank for beating us up? You are here saying she is the very best?" Semujju said Kadaga's problem has even nothing to do with the independence of Parliament as Katuntu asserted "but personal failure to respect the rules yet she is a senior lawyer of such enormous experience."

Semujju said it was legitimate for Kadaga to have her record scrutinized because "Ugandans who avail to us Shs800bn as Parliament annually with Shs2.5bn being expended on a daily basis deserve much better. This should actually be like going to recruit a CEO for a company called Parliament and we must consider the best candidate as opposed to being on trivial things. How do you make the cutting of her birth day cake to be part of Parliamentary business?"

Semujju added: "The Rebecca Kadaga Institute is established and someone who proposes that law to set it up is immediately made the chairperson of that institute? What can be worse than that Hon Abdul? What moral authority can we have as Parliament to criticize others for arbitrarily use of power if we can't protest that as wrong and not being right?"

It came to a point when Katuntu said he wasn't prepared to say anything anymore insisting that the more energetic pro-Kadaga fighters like Alex Brandon Kintu, carry on. Katuntu said he had said enough about Speakership as the moderator moved to discuss the 1500km Hoima to Tanga oil pipeline deal Gen Museveni signed earlier in the week with his Tanzanian counterpart Samia Sulu

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"When a man is stung by a bee, he doesn't set off to destroy all beehives"

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