Hon. Betty Nambooze speaking to media

One great writer said that, to the living we owe respect, but to the dead we owe only the truth but when death comes more so abruptly and in such a gruesome manner like it happened to my Honourable brother Col.Ibrahim Abiriga, truth ceases to matter but the fact that a life is lost.

I would therefore on my own behalf and on behalf of the people of Mukono Municipality wish to express our condolences to his family, relatives and to the people of Arua Municipality for this gruesome assisination that only adds to the trauma we are already suffering as a country over unexplained murders.

I am however, not going to insult Abiriga’s memory by pretending that he was my friend. He was far from it….He wasn’t shy about expressing his opinion….which I highly doubt was his opinion.

To me he was a loud speaker for the people who have chosen to love power more than the future of our Uganda.

He knew how to offend and irritate those of us who find Museveni’s government a curse to our country.

He invested all himself to maintain the status quo and it’s within this status quo that he has perished.

When one day I ran towards him to grab his yellow cap at Parliament,my intention was to show him that even with the guards the regime was fooling him with, it couldn’t secure him fully.

For that act and another of grabbing Pecos Kuteesa’s military cap, I paid with my backbone. I am now maimed for life and when I returned to Parliament after hospitalisation Abiriga tried to mock me, for which I almost physically fought with him.

But when news of Abiriga’s assassination came, I went cold with pain…I cried tears, but deep inside I knew I wasn’t crying for Abiriga, he was gone, I was crying for my country…..

We need our colleagues like Abiriga to stay around to realise the mess we have sunk our country in and maybe join forces to dig it out of the pit.

We need to reject any politics that targets people because of their political beliefs. This isn’t a matter of political correctness. It’s a matter of understanding what makes us strong.

Uganda will be better not through elimination of those we don’t agree with or innocent people to traumatise the Nation but because of our effort to put up systems that will work for us all irrespective of our political beliefs.

Every life must be respected and every murder must be condemned.

As we bury Abiriga, leaving his young family without a provider,it high time we all raise in one voice to say that the status quo is hopeless, there are no winners in a sinking boat.

IT IS TIME TO CHANGE even when Museveni still insists that those terrorising us are idiots we must come out boldly to tell him that we have no use with a Regime and a President who cannot successfully deal with “idiots”.

Rest in peace Abiriga.

The author is Mukono municipality MP

RELATED: Nambooze and three others inspected over Abiriga murder

RELATED: President Museveni should apologise over Abiriga murder – FDC

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Makindye West MP Allan Sewanyana.

The Member of Parliament for Makindye West, Allan Sewanyana, has suggested that a review of the Local Government (Amendment) Act 2014 whose provisions for lining up behind candidates while voting village council leaders be changed to secret ballot.

He says that the law is impractical since many villages have a sizeable number of voters and that it will be difficult to have grounds to accommodate them and get enough protection hence calling for secret ballot voting.

Sewanyana together with the Mukono Municipality Member of Parliament, Betty Nambooze were giving their submissions recently during the Public Service and Local Government Committee sitting at Parliament.

He asked the committee chaired by the Igara West MP, Rapheal Maghezi, to prevail over the Kampala Minister, Betty Olive Kamya Turomwe, so that a legal
instrument can be worked out and make Kampala part of the local council elections since the local government Amendment bill 2016 which is under scrutiny does not include elections for village councils .

The Electoral commission scheduled village and women council elections for 17th January 2017 though there is still contention over the funds released by government for this exercise.

Meanwhile a section of  citizens who also appeared before the public service and local government committee handling the local government Amendment Act 2016, have demanded that the committee moves to different areas to seek public views over this bill.

Elections on-going in Uganda.

The chairperson of Muyenga village in Makindye East Constituency, Yasin Omar, Joseph Mubiru a senior citizen from Mpigi, and Ssalongo Segonja Lwanga from Ganda Wakiso district said that the public hearing should be extended to other areas to capture people’s views on this bill arguing that the proposed bill has many lope holes.

Omar told the committee chair Magyezi that they should also cause constitutional amendments to stop the electoral commission from conducting village council elections and that the mandate given to district local councils election exercise the electoral commission is full of irregularities and malpractices.

Omar and a senior citizen Joseph Mubiru proposed that the village councils should be conducted under individual merit and through secret ballot instead of political parties so as to have harmony in the villages.

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Secretary General of the Democratic Party.

The Democratic Party officials led by the party deputy secretary, Gerald Siranda, and the party vice president in charge of Buganda, Betty Nambooze, while appearing before the public service and local government committee of parliament which is scrutinizing the local government Amendment Bill 2016, said that government should consider giving ample time to voters and the updating of the register in addition to giving sufficient time for candidates to be
nominated and conduct campaigns.

Siranda said that the local government amendment bill 2016 should give the voters register display 7 days instead of 2 days as proposed in the bill to give much time to voters to identify the problems in the registers.

He also pleads to the committee to reject the government proposal in the bill that gives power to the electoral commission to preside over the tribunal that will receive complaints from voters over the problems in the voters register.

Citizens in the north eastern part of Karamoja while casting their votes in an election.

Siranda said that the commission should not be in charge of this tribunal since it was part of registration of the voters in voters register and instead advised that this role remains with parish tribunals to avoid biasness when there are disputes arising from the voters register.

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Kahinda Otafire the constitutional affairs minister.

Parliament has given the Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Kahinda Otafire an ultimatum of two weeks in order to furnish the house with the status of the elections of village councils.

The directive was issued by the deputy speaker of parliament after opposition MPs who included; Mukono municipality MP, Betty Nambooze ,Busiro East MP Medard  Segoona ,Kira municipality MP, Ibrahim semujju Nganda and leader of opposition, Winfred Kiiza among others questioned when the government will hold the village council elections saying the people are demanding for new leaders to take over the new offices.

Nambooze said that people want to know what they should do with the leaders of village councils who are holding offices illegally.

The opposition chief whip, Ibrahim Semujju Nganda is concerned that the current illegal village councils are presiding over the sale of properties like land.

Otafire had earlier during his submission told parliament that he has no money to order for the election of village councils although parliament before 2016 elections passed the local government amendment bill 2014 for election of village leaders to be done through lining up.

However, after the deputy speaker‘s directive, Otafire promised to adhere to parliament stand and in two weeks will give the status of village council elections.

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Nambooze Betty

Shadow Minister for local Government who is also Mukono municipality Member of Parliament Betty Nambooze appealed to colleagues in parliament to throw out the proposal by Government to create more counties.

Yesterday the Minister of local Government Adolf Mwesigye tabled before parliament over 39 counties seeking parliamentary approval. However, Nambooze says that it should not be the 9th parliament, which put a ban on the creation of more constituencies, to reverse its decision and create more counties.

The law maker says that the creation of more counties is politically motivated to provide NRM more seats in parliament. Nambooze says that if parliament goes ahead and approves these new counties, the opposition will take the matter to court.

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The  group consisted of  FDC party leader Major General Mugisha Muntu , Democratic Party  National chairman Beswale Kezala , Jema President Assuman Basalirwa  ,FDC former president Dr. Kiiza Besigye, Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago , DP Secretary General Mathias Nsubuga, CP’s Ken Lukyamuzi , Betty Nambooze  among others .

Appearing  before  a fully  constituted committee chaired by Kajara  MP Stephen Tashobya,  the  group  said that presidential term limits should be reinstated to end the cycle of  handing power  to another president  through the use of a gun.

The former FDC leader Dr. Kiiza Besigye insisted that the president must serve two terms and leave the seat for others to take on.

The group’s technical person in the   constitutional Amendment and Electoral reforms bill Wandera Ogalo said that the presidential candidates should have running mate to become their vice president when they win so as the vice president has the mandate of the people.

Ogalo insisted that the electoral commission should be independent and appointed by the Judicial Service Commission through application, adding that the chairperson of the commission should hold office for a non-renewable term of eight years. He also pleaded with Members of Parliament sitting on this committee to amend the constitution and make army representatives exit parliament saying that no parliament in the world has army representatives. He said that if army representatives are left in parliament there is risk of turning the professional army into a partisan force.

Ogalo, on behalf of the three opposition political parties, said that the Attorney General and his deputy must be a judge of high court appointed by the president on recommendations of the Judicial Service Commission on a non-renewable term of seven years   .

They asked parliament to reduce the number of Ministers from 70 to 21 and added that ministers should be ex-officials. The Member of Parliament for Butambala county Muwanga Kivumbi proposed that the presidential candidate who could have scored over 5% in the national polls should automatically become a Member of Parliament.

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We have been reliably informed that currently when Nambooze brings an argument Lukwago openly fights it. The bad meat between Nambooze and Lukwago started during the appointment of the Deputy Mayor.

Sources say that Nambooze had requested Lukwago to choose a catholic and an opposition councilor to be the deputy mayor since Lukwago was a Muslim.

The development came after the Democratic Party requested Lukwago to appoint Sulaiman Kidandala as the deputy mayor of Kampala.

Nambooze argued that her resistance was not to rebel against the decision of the Democratic Party but she only wanted Lukwago to balance religions. Lukwago accepted and brought two names before the councilors to approve one of them to be the deputy mayor. That was the name of Luyiga and that of Kidandala.

When the councilors pressed him to give them one name for them to approve, Lukwago dropped that of Luyiga and gave them Kidandala.

The furious Nambooze went out of the hall, jumped into her car and drove off. And this could explain why Nambooze was rumoured to campaign for an NRM candidate in Luweero woman MP race while Lukwago has declared to support the DP candidate in the race.

The post Why Betty Nambooze split with Mayor Erias Lukwago first appeared on Uganda Multimedia News & Information.

Others would think that perhaps Nambooze could contest as Mukono district woman MP or LC5 chairperson.

But this is not true. We have been told that the flamboyant Mukono Municipality MP is preparing to replace her long time pal, Erias Lukwago as Kampala Lord Mayor.

It is said that Nambooze has started laying down all the necessary steps needed for one to become Lord Mayor. However it is not yet known whether Lukwago will seek re-election.

By Maureen Nyanzi

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Dr. Kizza Besigye at a press conference

Some of the party’s youth leaders have split over money they think their party president Dr. Kizza Besigye has been “dishing” out to none FDC members, Erias Lukwago, Muwanga Kivumbi, Betty Nambooze, Joseph Mulwanyamuli (former Buganda kingdom premier).

Some FDC youths informed us that the retired colonel has been giving money to non party members while some party cadres continue swimming in the lake of poverty.

The youths allege that during the 2011 general elections, Besigye gave 100 million shillings to Lukwago, 64 million shillings to Betty Nambooze and reportedly 2.5 billion shillings to Mulwanyabuli to sell Col. Kiiza Besigye’s candidature in Buganda.

The FDC activists are bitter that Besigye treats none party members as too vital. The FDC youth want any money their president gets to be given to FDC party members.

By Doreen Nyanzi

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Nambooze said although currently there is no legal contracts committee under which the City Authority is mandated to award contracts, so far 49 contracts have been issued out under Musisi’s supervision.

According to Nambooze, some of the contracts are awarded outside the law without following the legal procedures

She citied that Desan Services limited company that was contracted to manage the wastage of medical substances from the Authority’s Health Units in June yet an advert inviting the bids for the same contract was just published in The Observer of Thursday August 11 2011.

Nambooze further warned Musisi over the lavish and exorbitant expenditure in her operations since she assumed office as the executive Director

Nambooze said so far the authority has spent 30 million shillings on photocopying of official documents, 45 million shillings for procurement of brooms for cleaning the city, 355 million shillings on development of a strategic plan to Control HIV/AIDS at KCCA among other unrealistic expenses.

Ultimate Media

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