KAMPALA – National Unity Platform (NUP) flag bearer for Kawempe North Constituency Muhammad Segirinya says he is not moved by the U-turn made by incumbent and Parliament Imam Latif Sebagala to run for the seat he had earlier on given up.
This comes after the legislator confirmed that he will be defending his parliamentary seat in the forthcoming elections, a place he has been since 2001.
Segirinya says he is actually happy that Latif is returning since this will give him some bit of competition in the race as it seems he has not been having any.
“I am happy he is back in the race because it was not going to be fair since other contenders are weak but if he has come back into play it helps a lot. I ask him not to chicken out of the race, I want to bet him hands down so he can calm down,” Segirinya said.
Segirinya is however bothered by Latif’s indecisiveness which he says is not giving or relaying a clear picture for the people of Kawempe North to make informed decisions on who they have to vote for and on which position.
“He is not decisive, he failing to choose if he wants to be the Lord Councilor, Lord Mayor or MP as he keeps on changing all the time. He has wanted the MP slot three times, the Mayoral seat three times, the Lord Councilor three times and the East African Parliament representative three times,” Segirinya said.
According to Segirinya, the Kawempe North race is for the voters and this was evidenced by what happened when he had not yet been handed the NUP ticket as all people were sad in Kyebando but upon receiving it they were happy and he hopes to leverage on this power to win this race.
“I am basing my campaign on empowering youth to see that my people in Kawempe North live a good life. I will work on the drainage channels and also seek to revise the exorbitant license fees traders are charged as well as lobbying for road construction in Kawempe. I will enter parliament, people say I am short and if they do not listen to me I will get on top of the table,” he said.
From the start of 2019, Kawempe North legislator Latif Sebaggala Sengendo has been expressing his interests in contesting for the Kampala Mayoral position but after his older brother Nasser Ssebagala (RIP) pointing at the same slot in July, Latif dropped out of the race and announced to go back to the parliamentary race.
Ssebuliba Mutumba Muddu Awulila who is an expert in Kawempe politics says Sebagala’s indecisiveness is a big challenge to the opposition in building credible democracy.
“Have a good address and legacy so that people can see you. Changing from this slot to another does not portray a good image. This has resulted into corruption increasing in the opposition.”
Latif had earlier on declared that he wouldn’t be running for the same post in the 2021 elections fronting his intentions for the Kampala Mayoral slot.
Two weeks back, Latif who had initially declared his intentions for vying for the Kampala Lord Mayor seat quit the race just a few days after being announced the National Unity Platform flag bearer. In his defense, Latif said that he was quitting the race for the good of unity in the opposition.
A few days after NUP handed him the ticket, Latif announced that he had opted out of the Mayoral race but at the burial of his brother, Latif made it public that he had now come back in the MP race for the Kawempe North constituency.
“I have come back to contest for the Kawempe North seat. I am going to run as an independent.”
The Kawempe North race will now have Sulaiman Kidandala, Latif Sebaggala and Muammad Ssegirinya on the NUP ticket among others.
