{UAH} HERE IS WHY SEMUJJU NGANDA MADE A LOT OF SENSE ON NBS’ BAROMETER LAST NIGHT

By Mulengera Reporters 

Whether he retires after his current term or carries on occupying public office, Kiira Municipality MP Ibrahim Semujju Nganda has already earned his place and history will judge him generously when it comes to reflecting on men who consistently stood up to be counted and did their part when things were going wrong.

Some years ago, he acted prudently and was never found wanting as a journalist and it's with the same prudence that he has conducted himself as a legislator and mainstream politician in the last 10 years since joining politics in 2011. Still in his 40s, Nganda has nationally (not just regionally) impacted the political terrain of this country to levels many of his peers can only fantasize about.

And last night, Nganda was his usual self as he appeared for the Barometer, an ineptly hosted political debate that features on NBS TV every Tuesday evening. Being the only one airing on that day of the week, that Barometer show has what it takes to positively impact the political narrative of this country and thereby making Uganda a better place for everyone. All NBS proprietor Dr. Kin Kariisa must relentlessly keep doing is striving to find an appropriate moderator as the current young man doesn't measure up in some way.

The good intentions and enthusiasm he puts into the show are all decimated by glaring inexperience and outright bias in favor of some guests and against others. In his world Buganda seems to be Uganda and NUP the politics. He is clearly inclined to favor a certain political view which he seems motivated to have soft spot for not for any other reason but simply because it has the largest concentration of politicians from the Central region where too hails from. He actually has ambition to become MP or LC5 Chairperson there some day. 

BACK TO NGANDA

For Nganda, being featured on such premier platform is always an opportunity to simplify things and deepen ordinary people's understanding of the political dilemmas their country faces. Unlike some other opposition panelists who never allows others to talk (as if they own NBS), Nganda is always calm, honest, consistent and speaking with extreme clarity. Humor, correct appreciation of political phenomena and clarity of words remain his strongest selling points.

Last night, Nganda was calm, reflective and articulate as expected. He was able to come off that way inspite of the extreme appetite by the moderator to create contradictions and clashes between him (representing Red Card Front), NUP's Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro or even MP Betty Nambooze. In the world of Zambali, just like is the case with many other contemporary Uganda's moderators, a good show is one where guests unnecessarily trade insults and be adversarial even when it's extremely imprudent. The moderator, barely 2 years into the job, must have envisaged an exchange similar to what Marti Sempa had with Full Figure recently. Many would reference on the show, share the video and that is how we have come to rank great political talk show moderation in this country.

Right from his demeanor, it was evident the moderator had no other way to go about the show apart from creating belligerent contradictions between Nganda and Mufumbiro who sat immediately to his right. For our moderators these days, it doesn't matter whether the viewers become better or worse informed as a result of listening to the show at all. What matters is the exchange of crude words and moderators aren't interested in knowing the extent to which that strengthens or weakens the quality of politics and discussion that go on via our airwaves.

Nganda, a self-declared supporter, follower and leader of the newly unveiled Red Card Front, was made to speak first and the man from Bijaba immediately detected the moderator was looking for personal glory (resulting from being the man on whose show bitter words are exchanged) as opposed to deepening the correct understanding of things by the audience. His opening remark was a rebuke onto the moderator whom he politely asked to explain what a supposedly senior journalist like him would achieve hosting a show that ferments more ambiguity and contradictions as opposed to clarity and understanding. He asked Zambali what makes him think the job of ousting Gen Museveni, who many consider to be an imprudent ruler, must be his as Semujju Nganda and a few others as opposed to every Ugandan being encouraged to play some part towards pacification.

Nganda went as far as giving hints that there was a lot that was discussed before the public unveiling of the Front. He confessed attending many of those preparatory meetings that went on for months. Ideally moderator should have exhibited keenness to know what those private discussions were all about. But, not very surprisingly, he didn't. He instead resorted to rushing Nganda to wind up, something Charles Rwomushana later regretted as a lost opportunity for the millions of NBS viewers to learn more about the complex discussions that preceded the unveiling of the Red Card Front. Even after the Rwomushana prompting, the moderator didn't seem to realize the opportunity he had just lost to dig out juicy information for his audience.

Nganda insisted (without being discourteous) that where things had reached in Uganda, it would be imprudent for a senior journalist working for a premier platform like NBS to imagine his work is to only ask questions without being obliged to contribute towards making Uganda a better governed country. He referenced on his own days as an active political reporter with Monitor newspaper.

"Back then the issue was the debate on term limits and I remember Monitor, my employer, took a stand to publish content sensitizing the public on the dangers of deleting term limits in the Constitution. I was commissioned and assigned to head a team that daily generated that content to sensitize the public. We are at worse cross roads today as a country than then. I would expect NBS to take a stand on some of these things and someone like you leading a team working on some of these projects because this is your country too. But you have reduced yourself to just asking questions that promote skepticism towards every effort as if you have some other country you call home."

Nganda gave examples of things Zambali can zero on and be relevant to his country without having to first become a member or subscriber of the Red Card Front. "We have this clip of Museveni saying after 75, a leader can't manage to govern a country well and you have it. The other day I saw him celebrating 77 years and he is still President. You can do that role for your country to expose his contradictions and untruthfulness without ceasing to be an NBS employee rather than sitting there every Tuesday waiting for the Semujjus to come here and grill them as if the Uganda I come here to defend is my father's estate."

As Betty Nambooze referenced on the promise or vow that there would be no elections until Coronavirus is over as another Museveni lie that merits to be exposed repeatedly by major TV channels like NBS, Nganda wondered why NBS scribes like Zambali don't realize they are duty bound to understand things themselves and then proceed to explain to their audience without having to be partisan. "For instance we have this new Front now which we think needs to be explained so that the public understands it and judge us correctly. You don't have to invite me here or Besigye. You can read the documents and listen to speeches and understand what it's all about and then educate your audience. You don't have to believe in the Front. That way you would have done your part as opposed to creating deliberate falsehoods about the Front so that you can have what to ask when you bring me here with Mufumbiro or even Hon Betty Nambooze."

Nganda said he looks forward to a day when he is going to be invited to a media talk show and be required to respond to misconceptions some people might innocently be having about the Front as opposed to being set up to clash with people (NUP) who are supposed to be his allies. "Instead all I see are people who are supposed to be serous journalists asking why is NUP not part of this. Is it true this is about Besigye staging a comeback?" Nganda said that much as he appreciates the opportunity to be invited and given a platform to amplify his views, he was tired of such deliberately very unhelpful questions asked by journalists who are supposed to know better. At some point, Zambali read out a question that came via text to the effect that Front was about "removing Robert Kyagulanyi." Nganda promptly asked: "Removing him from what?" making Zambali speechless.

Nganda also said it was immaterial whether the Front has some members or leaders who previously stood and failed to win elections. What matters, he asserted, is that they are Ugandans out to demand for a better governed country. He also rejected claims that the Front of 2021 must be different from those before it. He asserted it doesn't have to be different because the problems it's being established to overcome or to fight have remained the same for the last 35 years.

On some NUP supporters not being comfortable belonging to a Front led by Col Kizza Besigye whose charisma they fear might overshadow their Principal, Nganda said they can contribute to the Museveni removal without subscribing to the Besigye-led Front; they can organize separately and undertake a certain set of activities without having to antagonize those organizing differently. "But what we can't accept is to be required to go through a 2^nd layer of seeking clearance to have our activities. That apart from Police, we must be cleared and accepted by another institution [NUP] to be able to carry out our protest against Museveni." He implied that would be fermented a new phase of centralistic dictatorship which they are currently working to dismantle.

Nganda also explained that the timing of the Red Card Front is the most appropriate as there is no general election around the corner so that politicians begin fighting for positions. At the same time, Nganda exercised extreme restraint because they are provocative things Mufumbiro said indirectly demonizing his man Dr. KB but he never responded to them. One of this was the contemptuous reference to the Cotter pin and talk that a soldier stood higher chances to overcome Gen Museveni than non-military adversaries. Nganda also denied claims that they are seeking publicity just to eclipse other political groups out of the media glare.

He said their preference is that this Front gets led by any opinion leader outside politics so as to make it less partisan and as inclusive as possible. In Malawi, he said, the Front into transition, was led by priests adding that even in Uganda the same would be ideal but none of the clerics is willing to step forward save for a few like Imam Kasozi who he credited for accepting a leadership role in the Red Card Front.  The Kiira Municipality MP also responded to claims that many similar Fronts have been failing. He said if that were to be the conventional way to reason and look at things, unsuccessful job and money-seekers wouldn't be flocking Kampala town every other day. On failing to get a job or money, people would opt to remain at home for the rest of their lives.

"You go to town to look for money. You fail and the following day you wake up to go back and try carrying on from where you stopped the previous day. If failing would mean giving up, many people would be staying home sleeping without ever coming to town again but you keep trying. Some people actually die trying without ever getting the money or job they were going to town to chase and this business of removing the dictatorship is the same." Nganda also said many things to illustrate his point that it would be imprudent to just sit home and wait for the next EC Road Map without undertaking any activities aimed at keeping Museveni exhausted and frightened.

"We had Gen Bashir very strong in Khartoum but he is no longer President. There was Mugabe and others. Possibly they would both still be Presidents if people in Sudan and Zimbabwe sat and waited for the next election controlled by the Electoral Commission appointed by the same President they are seeking to oust," Nganda said adding "everyone did their party; they tried and time came when the Semujjus got tired and women stepped forward to lead the Front against Gen Bashir. Just imagine everyone sat down and waited for the next election Road Map."

"We must keep waving the red card at him [M7] so that he doesn't forget that these people are tired of me. We don't have to do similar things. People will act differently but the goal must remain the same which is the exhaustion of the regime. It's like robbers attacking a village and you ask an old woman why are you making that alarm yet you aren't even strong enough to overcome those robbers? She should be encouraged to do what she can to frighten the robbers as others use pangas, clubs and even vuvuzelas or whistles. You can't be angry at anyone contributing anything to make it risky for the robbers to attack and rob that village because at that moment every contribution matters to weaken the cause of the attackers." Reflecting on the fact that over 100,000 Ugandan youths now live and work (doing odd jobs) in Dubai alone, Nganda said this country can clearly needs both political and economic liberation and time is of essence as opposed to people waiting for the next EC Road Map to be able to do something to mitigate the situation
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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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