PART 1: Top NRM ‘Sacrificial Lambs’ Keeping M7 Gov’t in Power and why they didn’t appear in Juicy Positions

Sanjay Tanna

The Tororo Municipality former MP is a Ugandan with a brand of a kind man. The politician with a magnetic appeal in Tororo is also a successful businessman running enterprises across the country, and has consolidated a family business empire.

Tanna is a famous Politician and one of the Top mobilisers of the ruling NRM party who has consolidated Museveni’s support for years. He speaks Luganda, English, Kiswahili and Japadhola among other languages.

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Even when he is out of parliament, Sanjay is a man who is always in the field, checking on this and that, following up on projects and diligence is seen in his work.

Ugandans keep wondering why mafias fight Tanna, a man who has given thousands of Ugandan Jobs, pays taxes and also consolidated NRM support in Eastern Uganda.

Political experts argue that Sanjay Tanna should not miss out on Juicy positions ,adding that given his experience in management of private and public affairs earns him an accolade as the best leader from Eastern Uganda .

Tanna contested for the highest organ of the ruling National Resistance Movement political party in Eastern Uganda in the previous elections. He has for years been a member of President Museveni’s national campaign taskforce which helped the latter to return to the country’s top seat.

However, Mafias are known to be using impunity and incompetence, and have been fighting Sanjay because of his incorruptible stature and strength of mind.

‘’We are sure Mzee appreciates efforts by Sanjay and his resilience but the Mafias have always tried to fight and tarnish his image’’, said a source.

Hajji Majid Batambuze

Batambuze, 52, was the first interim Jinja City Mayor and Chairperson Urban Authorities Association (UAA).

UAA is an association of urban establishment and it’s a body that brings together all the urban council leaders. Stakeholders argue that Batambuze, a former candidate in the Jinja Southern division East constituency is an assiduous leader whom Museveni needed in his cabinet and other key positions to stir the country.

According to sources, mafias fear the appointment of Batambuze given his exposure, articulacy and competence in fulfilling tasks. But we have been reliably informed that the big man from Rwakitura considers Batambuze as one of the best leaders of this generation and anytime the haters might be shocked with the announcement from the appointing authority.

‘’Batambuze is among the few generational leaders who can turn Mzee’s dreams into reality .He played a pivotal role in fostering development of Jinja from lighting up streets with Solar, Improved waste management, revamped roads with a modern jet patchier, refurbishment of Jinja City headquarters (Town hall) and titling of public land .In his term Jinja managed to attain a city status among other achievements. This is the reason all urban leaders elected him the Chairperson for UAAU ’’, one of the veteran politicians who preferred anonymity said adding that most of the establishments in the new cities and urban policies were fostered by Batambuze.

Batambuze who at some time worked at the Office of the President of Uganda as a Resident District Commissioner (RDC) for Budaka is outspoken and regarded as a lobbyist given his exposure both within and outside Uganda. He at many times represented the government in various regional and international platforms.

The traveled former Jinja Mayor is an ardent advocate for the promotion of secondary cities and their role in the social-economic development of a country. He strongly believes that to solve the ubiquitous urban challenges of congestion, pollution, overpopulation and proliferation of informal settlements in Africa’s capital cities, the solution lies in developing secondary cities.

In one term of service as Jinja mayor and chairperson of UAAU, a union of all cities, municipalities and towns of Uganda, Batamuze advocated for equitable and sustainable urban development and through his leadership more than seven municipalities were elevated to City status.

Batambuze studied Business Administration in London, United Kingdom and he is the Managing Director of Farland Assets Uganda Limited, a business consultancy company in Kampala, Uganda.

Daudi Migereko

Migereko is another senior leader with vast experience in various fields .Although he was appointed the chairman Uganda Tourist Board (UTB), many believe Museveni still needed Migereko in another senior position to bolster Uganda’s development and consolidate development. Migereko was the minister of lands, housing and urban development in the cabinet of Uganda. He was appointed to that position on 27 May 2011. He replaced Omara Atubo, who was dropped from the cabinet. In the cabinet reshuffle of 2016, the president dropped him from this position and replaced him with Betty Amongi. From 16 February 2009 until 27 May 2011, he served as the government’s chief whip in the parliament of Uganda. Before that, he was the minister of energy and mineral development in the cabinet. Migereko also represented Butembe County, Jinja District in the parliament from 2006 to 2016, a position he surrendered to who won the seat in the 2016 General Elections.

Migereko was born on 26 June 1956 in Jinja District. He graduated from Makerere University with a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma in Education. His Master of Arts in transport planning and marketing was obtained from the University of California, Santa Barbara, in the United States.

Stakeholders believe that Migereko’s appointment to UTB is not enough given his huge experience .

Nusura Tiperu Omar

Tiperu is a Ugandan diplomat, politician and former legislator. She currently serves as the ambassador of Uganda to Turkey. She was appointed to that position in December 2021.

Before that, between 2007 and 2017, she served two consecutive terms as one of the nine members representing Uganda in the 2nd and 3rd East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) in Arusha, Tanzania. She was elected to serve in that capacity in June 2012, for the next five years.She also served in the same capacity from June 2007 until June 2012, during the 2nd EALA Session.

She was born in Yumbe District, West Nile sub-region, in Northern Uganda on 21 October 1974. Nusura Tiperu attended Mukono Town Academy in Mukono District for her A-Level studies, from 1992 until 1993. She then entered Makerere University, Uganda’s oldest university, where she studied Social Sciences from 1994 until 1997. She graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Social Sciences.

From 1996 until 2001, she served as the Female Youth Member of Parliament, representing all young women in Uganda. She was then elected to serve as the Woman Member of Parliament, representing Yumbe District in Parliament from 2001 until 2006. From 2007 until 2012, she served in the East African Legislative Assembly in Arusha, Tanzania, representing the Republic of Uganda. In June 2012, she was re-elected to serve in the same capacity for another five-year term.

She is the Chairperson of the International Muslim Women’s Union. She is also a member of the Central Executive Committee of the National Resistance Movement, the ruling political party in Uganda since 1986. From 2012 until 2015, she served as a member of the EALA Commission. The Commission “manages the affairs of the Assembly, organizes the business and program of the House, and nominates members of other committees’’.

It is a public secret that Tiperu has had a lot of mafias fighting her given her resilience in handling things, and many expected a bigger appointment than being an ambassador.

Daniel Fred Kidega

Kidega is a Ugandan politician and former Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly, in office from December 2014 until June 2017.As of August 2020; he served as the chairman of Atiak Sugar Factory, in Amuru District, in which the Uganda government owned 40 percent shareholding.

Kidega was a student leader in the 1990s, rising to the rank of Chairman of the National Youth Council. He worked as the Private Secretary to the Vice President of Uganda from 2000 to 2001. Daniel Fred Kidega was a member of President Museveni’s national campaign taskforce in 2001. He served as a Member of Parliament in the Seventh Parliament from 2001 until 2006, as a National Youth Representative. He is a member of the National Executive Council (NEC), the highest organ of the ruling National Resistance Movement political party. He was a member of President Museveni’s national campaign team in 2011. He was first elected to the EALA in 2007 and was re-elected for a second term in 2012.

On 19 December 2014 he was elected unopposed as the fourth Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly.

He studied at Kyambogo University, at that time called Kyambogo Polytechnic. He graduated from Kyambogo with a Diploma in Biochemistry. He then joined Uganda Christian University in Mukono, graduating with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree. Later, he studied at Lund University in Lund, Sweden, obtaining a Diploma in International Trade and a Master of Science in International Trade.

Having been a member of President Museveni’s national campaign team for years, it alleged that self seekers fight Kidega speculating that him being appointed to a juicy docket will make them uncomfortable with a lot of his firmness on performance and service delivery.

Sam Engola

Born June 15, 1958, Sam Engola is a Ugandan businessman and politician. He served as the State Minister for Housing in the Ugandan Cabinet. He was appointed to that position on 27 May 2011. He replaced Michael Werikhe Kafabusa, who was dropped from the Cabinet. In the cabinet reshuffle of 1 March 2015, he retained his cabinet portfolio. Sam Engola is also the elected Member of Parliament for “Erute County South”, Lira District.

From 1995 until 1996, he served as a member of the Constitutional Assembly that drafted and promulgated the 1995 Ugandan Constitution. He served as the Chairman of Uganda Air Cargo Limited, from 1995 until 2001. He has continuously represented his constituency in the Ugandan Parliament since 2001. He is also a member of the National Executive Committee of the ruling National Resistance Movement political party and has worked hard to consolidate NRM support in northern Uganda and other areas. Political Spectators believe Museveni should keep Engola as his right hand man given his mobilization skills and political experience especially in the North.

Margaret Nantongo Zziwa

Magret Zziwa is a Ugandan politician and former legislator. She served as the Speaker of the 3rd East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) in Arusha, Tanzania. She was elected to serve in that capacity in June 2012. She is a member of the ruling National Resistance Movement, the ruling political party in Uganda since 1986 and one of the party strategists. Margaret Zziwa holds the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education, both from Makerere University. One of her master’s degrees, obtained from Makerere as well, is the Master of Arts in Gender and Women Studies. She also holds another master’s degree, the Master of Arts in Social Policy Studies, from the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom.Later, she was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy by the University of Stirling.

Between 1993 and 1995, she served as a member of the Constituent Assembly that drafted the 1995 Ugandan Constitution. From 1996 until 2006, she served two consecutive terms in Uganda’s Parliament as the Women’s Member of Parliament for Kampala District.

Since 2007, she served as one of the nine Ugandan legislators in the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA), the legislative arm of the East African Community. In June 2012, she was elected to serve as the speaker of the EALA.

Her experience and knowledge about Politics and governance makes her one of the best female politicians Uganda has and many wonder why she is not holding one of the biggest dockets in the country.

Lydia Wanyoto Mutende

Uganda is blessed with another iron lady who can turn things around and serves as a huge pillar for the existence of the ruling NRM Party. Lydia Wanyoto is a Ugandan lawyer, politician and diplomat, who served as the Deputy Special Representative of the Chairperson of African Union Commission (DSRCC), based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. From July 2014 until August 2014, she temporarily served as Head of the African Union Mission to Somalia.

She completed high school at Makerere High School, where she obtained her High School Diploma.

She was admitted to the Uganda Christian University (UCU), where she graduated with a Bachelor of Education in Languages, specializing in English literature, English language, French language and Kiswahili. She went on to obtain a Bachelor of Laws degree, also from (UCU).

She followed that with a Diploma in Legal Practice, awarded by the Law Development Centre, in Kampala. Her first master’s degree, a Master of Arts in Human Rights Law, was obtained from Makerere University, Uganda’s largest and oldest public university. Her second master’s degree, a Master of Arts in Gender and Women Studies, was also awarded by Makerere University.

In 1995, while a student at Makerere University, Wanyoto became active in campus politics and was elected as Chairperson of Mary Stuart Hall, one of the female halls of residence on campus. During the 1995 Constituent Assembly, she volunteered in the parliament chamber, helping the Assembly Chairperson with paperwork.

In 2001, Wanyoto was elected to the first East African Legislative Assembly, because they remembered her free service during the Constituent Assembly days, despite never having served as a member of Uganda’s parliament. She served in that role from 4 February 2001 until 10 February 2006.

Wanyoto was appointed as a member of the board of directors of Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE), a Kampala-based think tank. She is also a member of the committee that was created to establish the National Defence College, Uganda.

In April 2019, Wanyoto was appointed to the board of directors of the National Planning Authority of Uganda, to serve a five-year term, renewable one time. Spectators argue that Wanyoto should be among the top ‘drivers’ of this country given her broad experience.

H.E Philip Idro (Former Uganda Ambassador to China)

He is a renowned entrepreneur, Diplomat and farmer. Idro, who hails from West Nile, is the CEO of Upland Rice Millers Co. Ltd. He is an expert in regional and international politics and one of those Ugandans believed would be in the current Cabinet.

Moses Grace Balyeku

He is the former MP for Jinja Municipality West and a renowned National Resistance Movement mobiliser. During his term Balyeku was regarded as ‘Busoga MP’ due to his strategic mobilization .He also transformed his constituency with empowering Women and Youth, Boda boda Ssacos among other groups. To date, even when he is out of parliament, Balyeku’s services and achievements in the constituency continue to positively impact lives. Besides his legislative work in the previous parliament, Balyeku is a Business man employing a number of people in Jinja especially in Hospitality and Media.

For years, many wonders why Balyeku doesn’t appear on the list of appointment by the big man for a juicy job .However , it is alleged that haters fight day and night to block his appointment but a source intimated to us that this time, mzee is tired of backstabbers and he is ready to deploy Balyeku as one of the young NRM turks .