KAMPALA – As the races in the run-up to the 2021 elections heat up, motor mouthed Agnes Namaganda has vowed to beat any candidate to the Kampala Woman MP seat on the National Unity Platform ticket, a political vehicle of the People Power movement.
“I am only affiliated to People Power and it’s new outfit, National Unity Platform (NUP) and I have never been a member of any other party,” Namaganda tells PML Daily.
She will have to tussle the flag from People Power strongwoman Shamim Malende, a well established insider in the outfit.
However Ms Namaganda says she is not afraid of the challenge.
She said:
“I picked my Expression of Interest forms from NUP offices about three weeks ago and I am only waiting for the Electoral Commission at NUP to announce me as flag bearer because I have strong presence, a key criterion in determining the flag bearer,” she says.
Ms Namaganda explains that she has been greatly inspired by the boldness of Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, to join the struggle of changing the country’s leadership which has degenerated over the years.
“As the young generation, we perfectly understand that it’s our time to serve our country because Museveni started agitating for leadership when he was just about our age. The old generation has run out of ideas on how to rule and they are now using brutal force to exert fear leaving us in the same exact place we were, when they rose to power,” she says.
About choosing to represent Kampala in particular, she explains that this district is a unique constituency given the vibrant political disposition of its constituents.
“However, Kampala’s voters have been receiving a raw deal. Kampala has not been receiving the excellent representation they deserve because of the quality of legislators they send to Parliament; that is why I am standing”, she firmly adds.
Ms Namaganda has no kind words for Nabilah Naggayi (the current Woman MP of Kampala) who failed to vote on the Presidential Age Limit Bill, something that her voters were hoping would relieve them of President Museveni’s regime.
“There’s an NRM legislator who appeared for voting on a stretcher but our Woman MP showed no cause in spite of our faith in her to articulate and communicate Kampala’s position on this matter. That alone, was betrayal! She betrayed Kampala!” she says.
“Secondly, how can Kampala, with all the revenue collected from this city, have a pothole? Our heavy tax burden plus the baggage of the high costs of living that we carry, can at least be lessened through such simple gestures like pothole-free roads! Instead, money collected from here, is shared with mushrooming districts that are created out of bad faith; districts that cannot sustain themselves but have to rely on Kampala!”
Ms Namaganda says that Kampala needs legislators that resonate with their passion for excellent leadership and fearless articulation and tabling of issues before government. Kampala needs a leader that will offer new ideas on addressing issues on cases when government fails to listen.
Ms Namaganda says she has left her job at Makerere University School of Public Health where she’s been in charge of Communications and PR, to join politics.
Ms Namaganda holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Education majoring in Physics and Mathematics.
Right out of university, she taught at Makerere High School-Migadde, Kololo High School, and Cornerstone Leadership Academy in Matugga. She then left the teaching profession and joined the Daily Monitor as a Features’ Writer for five years. She also worked briefly with Communication for Development Foundation Uganda (CDFU) thereafter.
Before joining Makerere University, she was the Team Leader of Communications and Public Relations at Buganda Land Board, the outfit that handles all transactions on Kabaka’s land. At the moment, she’s pursuing a Masters in Public Health at Makerere University.
