KAMPALA – The former Soroti Municipality MP, Mike Mukula has cautioned current and aspiring politicians against borrowing to finance their political careers saying such a move would ruin their political careers.
Talking to his twitter handle on Wednesday, Mukula wrote, “My advice to aspiring and current MPs Please avoid borrowing from money lenders in an attempt to secure a constituency you will be pouring your money into a black deep hole never to recover. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Mukula’s remarks comes at the time former Minister, Henry Kajura is battling to save his home and land sitting on over 50 acres in Hoima district from a moneylender, Abdu Ssali, who is claiming ownership of the property.
According to Ssali he is seeking to secure a court order to evict Kajura and take possession of his property arguing after lending Kajura UGX500M in 2015, during election campaigns.
Kajura who is 85years was born on July 7, 1934, and was appointed Minister of Trade & Industry, Natural Resources, Water & Mineral Development in 1989, serving in that capacity until 1998. Between 1998 and 2001, he served as Minister of Water, Lands & the Environment, after Trade & Industry was split off to form a separate ministry. He was appointed Third Deputy Prime Minister in 2002, serving in that capacity until 2005 when he was appointed Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Public Service.
In the cabinet reshuffle of May 2009 and that of 27 May 2011, Kajura retained both his cabinet positions, being promoted to First Deputy Prime Minister in 2013 making his stint in Cabinet running from 1989 to 2016.
However, Kajura isn’t the only politician facing the wrath of loans with former Kyadongo East MP, Apollo Kantinti having been sent to Luzira prison for failing to pay UGX108M to his political rival from NRM Sitende Ssebalu in legal costs following an election petition filed by Sitende challenging Kantinti’s victory which Sebalu won after court nullified Kantinti’s victory and ordered for fresh elections which was won by the now local musician turned politician Robert Kyagulanyi.
Kantinti’s sentence came at the time he was serving a six-month sentence in Luzira prison for failing to pay a UGX260M out of the UGX300M loan he had acquired from Standard Chartered bank when he had just won a seat in the 10th Parliament.
When arraigned before high court deputy registrar Flavia Nabakooza, Katinti was if he was in position to pay the debt through another agreement, Katinti instead chose to serve the six months in Luzira prison because he had no penny to pay his debts, prompting the judge to send him to prison and ordered Ssebalu pay UGX3000 daily to cater for Katinti’s feeding.
