President Museveni’s decision to reconstitute the Public Service Commission (PSC) has put fresh attention on one name on the list: Dr Hanifah Naamala Sengendo.
Dr Sengendo is the wife of Latif Ssebagala, the former Kawempe North MP who has recently softened his stance toward Museveni.
Parliament’s Appointments Committee vetted the nominees yesterday.
The new commission is led by Vincent Seruma as chairperson and Jane Sanyu Mpagi as deputy chairperson. The other members are Dr Anthony Taabu Munyaho, Dr Sengendo, Florence Mugonya Malinga, Dr Opio Alex Achol, Kenneth Namboga Madete, Patrick Ngolobe and Mauda Norah Mugisha.
Yet in particular, Dr Sengendo’s appointment has fueled speculation that it could be linked to her husband’s changing tone toward the president.
Ssebagala’s political shift started on February 5, 2026, when he was among 17 opposition figures, led by former Mawokota South MP Yusuf Nsibambi, who met Museveni at State House Entebbe shortly after the January general election.
Ssebagala defended the meeting at the time, saying it was openly requested and not held in secrecy.
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That engagement drew criticism from within opposition ranks but by mid-September, Ssebagala had gone further in his praise of Museveni.
Appearing on Sanyuka TV on September 15, 2026, he declared that he had quit the National Unity Platform (NUP) and no longer backed its leader, Robert Kyagulanyi, who is in exile in the US.
“I am now an independent member. I left NUP a long time ago,” he said.
He went further still, saying he would back Museveni for another term, adding that if he does not contest in 2031, he would vote for whoever he points out as his potential successor, such as Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.
It is worth noting that Museveni’s approval letter for the PSC nominees was signed on August 30, more than two weeks before that Sanyuka TV appearance.
This means that Ssebagala could have had information or knowledge about his wife’s impending appointment to the commission.
Away from politics, Dr Sengendo has built a long career in child health and family mentorship. She is a pediatrician of more than 20 years’ standing and now serves as chief executive officer of the Stepping Stone Platform, a social enterprise focused on parent coaching and mentorship for teenagers.
She has worked at Save the Children Uganda and Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation Uganda, where she worked on maternal, newborn, and child health programming.
The PSC is the constitutional body responsible for the recruitment, appointment, promotion and discipline of public officers in Uganda.
It also advises the president on staffing matters across government ministries and departments.
For now, the coincidence of Dr Sengendo on the list coupled with her husband’s embrace of Museveni is enough to keep tongues wagging in Kampala’s political circles.
