A few weeks after joining the Office of the Prime Minister as spokesperson, Charles Odongtho was summoned to Robinah Nabbanja’s office.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!“Your contract will not be renewed,” the prime minister told the visibly shocked veteran journalist according to the account of two people who witnessed the exchange.
“I don’t need you here. Thats all.”
A visibly shaken Odongtho was not given the right to respond.
In less than a month, sources say, Nabbanja had sized up the former journalist and concluded that he had a lot of “lugezigezi”.
Sources said in some of the internal meetings, Odongtho was often the dominant speaker offering his take on this and that.
This trait, sources say, did not impress Nabbanja who preferred people who work under the radar.
“Nabbanja has an inferiority complex because it seems like she did not expect to be prime minister. So anybody who appears brilliant cannot work well with her,” one of our sources at OPM told us.
Since this exchange, Odongtho has been walking on eggshells and in fear of what could come next.
Nabbanja had directed that he be withdrawn from her media team but other technical people said they were short of manpower and so needed him.
Odongtho, a lawyer and journalist who used to put politicians to task as moderator of NBS TV’s Frontline has now been relegated to a social media manager.
He now shares pictures showcasing OPM field activities on social media platforms, a job some people say is beneath his qualifications.
There are others who blame Odongtho for his predicament. He failed to understand that in government offices and organisations, your brilliance sometimes counts for nothing.
“You must learn how to play politics. You must remain humble,” said a person who still works at the OPM.
“Odongtho still imagined himself as a journalist who must ask questions even when it is not neccessary.”
This week, Nabbanja, the prime minister issued a directive that Odongtho should not be seen “within” the corridors of the OPM building, sources have told us.
Sources told us that he is resigned to his fate and starting in December, he will be knocking on doors again.
Odongtho joined OPM in July 2023 after a lengthy process that involved lobbying.
Yet it is not only Odongtho who has faced Nabbanja’s ire.
About six months ago, Pascal Kwesiga, her former Communications Advisor, abruptly resigned after failing to put up with the prime minister’s attacks.
“During the by-elections in Hoima, she kept on reminding people how she gave one of their children a job. This did go down well with Kwesiga, who believes he got the job on merit,” said a source.
While the two belong to the same ethnic group, Kwesiga is a Chevening scholar and holds a master’s degree in International Communication from the University of Leeds.
The two had also clashed over other issues, some related to her speeches.
Sources said that when Kwesiga resigned, Nabbanja tried to lure him back but she failed. She then tapped Francis Jjingo, the former NTV journalist, who sources say does not cause her any trouble.
