MBABAZIS’ BACK! Ex-PM Wife Eyes Elderly Mp Seat

The Mbabazis’ are back. They fell out badly with the powers that be in the build up to 2016 elections but later reconciled. They have reportedly been wielding influence behind the scenes, but a move by Jackline Mbabazi to stand for Member of Parliament representing Older Persons in Uganda’s Western Region has been widely interpreted as a move by the ‘powerful couple’ to rejoin government/NRM mainstream and start from where they stopped, if at all they did.

She has since pledged to champion the dignity, rights, and well-being of the country’s elderly, accusing the current system of neglect and indifference.
Today she officially picked nomination forms from the NRM secretariat in the company of her husband.

Before her fall, she served as the Chairperson of the Women’s League in the National Resistance Movement (NRM).

She says she is not happy with how some elderly Ugandans are treated, citing cases where they are transported in wheelbarrows just to access social assistance.

“It is heartbreaking. This money is meant to help them, and it should be taken directly to where they are,” she says.Among her key pledges, Mbabazi vowed to use Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations (SACCOs) to improve nutrition and financial education for older persons.
She also called for sustained public sensitization campaigns to ensure the elderly understand their rights and the services available to them.
“The government must stop discriminating against the elderly,” she said.
“They deserve respect and care. I will work with the Ministry of Health to ensure medical centres are equipped to meet their needs..