Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the vocal Kira Municipality MP finds himself in a spot of bother after it was revealed that he was a beneficiary of Parliament’s cash bonanza.
From being a hunter, he has become the hunted. Some would add that he is now also the haunted.
Ssemujju made a name as a political journalist at The Monitor and The Observer where he specialized in exposing government excesses and misuse of public funds.
In one of his most critical pieces for The Observer in 2004, Ssemujju revealed government had spent Shs 5 billion of taxpayers’ money to fund former Vice President Dr Specioza Kazibwe’s PhD at Harvard.
When he went to Parliament in 2011, he carried this critical stance with him. Session after session, Ssemujju has become popular for pointing out incidents of misuse of public expenditure.
His favorite target, for the 13 years he has spent in the House, has been President Museveni.
In May 2023, Ssemujju stunningly revealed that the taxpayer spends Shs 1 million a day (roughly Shs 350 million a year) to replenish the president’s wardrobe.
“Our president is not a star from Hollywood requiring to change wardrobe every day. He’s a president of a poor country. Why buy him clothes worth Shs350 million every year. What happened to the clothes that were bought last year?” Ssemujju questioned.
Now, a barrage of questions is being directed at him regarding public taxpayer’s money that he allegedly used to perform pilgrimage in Mecca.
So far, he appears tongue tied and even with his eloquence, he has failed to summon a coherent response.
Instead, he has blamed the NRM, the media and everything in between for his current troubles. Not himself.
Some say Ssemujju has borrowed heavily from President Museveni’s political playbook. Museveni is fond of deflecting blame for his shortcomings on other things but not himself.
On the Capital Gang show on March 23 under a barrage of questions from Agather Atuhaire, a social media activist, Ssemujju wondered: “Why is the country excited about money being deposited on other people’s accounts. As long as the money is in the budget you can’t dictate how it’s withdrawn and disbursed to where it’s appropriated.”
Ssemujju’s sudden change of tone and his defence of Parliament’s misuse of taxpayers’ money has drawn criticism from people who say they used to admire him.
Some say it marks a low point for a legislator once considered as the standard bearer of the values an MP should espouse such as integrity.
“Really disappointed in Ssemujju. I used to think he was one of the last few good politicians we had,” said Samuel Wasswa, who said he was an admirer of Ssemujju.
Why the turn around?
Some say Ssemujju has now become a willing accomplice to Uganda’s murky politics, where its hard to emerge with clean hands.
“It is like saying you want to swim but you do not want to get wet. That is impossible,” said one analyst.
Under President Museveni, politics has become so commercially driven that those who can’t marshal enormous financial resources stand little chance of succeeding at an election.
For those who eventually succeed and make it to Parliament or become ministers, the financial rewards can be great.
In a country where less than 5% of formally employed people earn Shs 1 million or less per month, the Shs 30 million and other allowances and perks enjoyed by MPs, is too good to turn down.
In addition, being an MP or minister opens up several other channels of deal-making and influence peddling.
Therefore, opposition diehards and government’s critics like Ssemujju and Mathias Mpuuga find it difficult not to indulge when an opportunity presents itself.
They, too, would want to drive the fancy cars, build mansions and put up nice apartments to earn a side income. They also want to occasionally go for exotic holidays with their families and to take their children to the best schools.
In short, they need money to satisfy all these demands.
Who controls access to this money?
President Museveni and his agents like Speaker Anita Among, whom he thanked at the opening of her teaching hospital in Bukedea for helping him “recruit members of the opposition”.
So you either dance to their tunes and join their eating club or you remain steadfast, hardnosed and suffer with your principles.
Ssemujju, for now, appears to have decided to sit at the eating table.
