Hot exchanges and insults have been traded during the ongoing social media campaign aimed at unearthing the rot and extravagance of the 11th Parliament.
Trending on X under the hash tag, #UgandaParliamentExhibition, the campaign started on February 25.
It has pitted two groups; one of activists who want Parliament to be closely scrutinized over its decisions and expenditure of tax payer’s money and another of people, largely parliament staff and paid social media influencers, who are prepared to spare no effort to defend the image and leadership of the 11th Parliament.
Mainstream media and other credible news websites have been caught in the middle, between their duty to inform the public of the goings-on and the fear of biting the hand (Parliament) that regularly feeds them.
So far, reputable media organisations appear to either have “ignored” the exhibition or to have deliberately decided not to report about it.
A senior manager at one of the biggest media houses in Uganda told Bbeg Media that they did not want to antagonize their relationship with an institution that gives them good money in advertisement.
“We are following it [the exhibition] but our hands are tied because we enjoy a good relationship with them [Parliament],” the manager said, requesting for anonymity.
A senior editor at one of the newspapers said “they will see” if they can do a story about the exhibition acknowledging however that the stakes were high.
We have been told that Parliament spends billions of shillings each year in advertisements.
For many media houses battling to stay afloat amid the gloomy economic picture, they will do anything to get a piece of parliament’s money, including shying away from stories that put the House in bad light.
No Prisoners
Yet on social media particularly X, the exchanges between the two sides have been eye catching if not scathing.
The group that demands more transparency and accountability from parliament is headed by Agather Atuhaire, a lawyer-cum-journalist and a human rights activist. Atuhaire is assisted by Anthony Natif and Dr Spire Ssentongo, a lecturer-cum activist and brainchild behind some of the recent social media campaigns against exploitation of external labourers. Exiled Ugandan novelist Kakwenza Rukirabashaija is part of this group.
Those in defence of Parliament are led by Ibrahim Manzil, a former journalist at Daily Monitor but now a staff at Parliament and Max Patrick Ocaido, a former parliamentary reporter who also works at Parliament. There is also Eric Dominic Bukenya, a former Daily Monitor photographer who works in the speaker’s office.
The Manzil group is assisted by an army of social media influencers, some alleged to be on the payroll of Speaker Anita Among.
They are led by someone who runs the handle under the ambiguous name National Scholar Uganda, who has been very uncompromising to anyone who speaks ill against Parliament or its leadership especially Speaker Anita Among. There is a one Amanya Stuart, who claims to be a digital equity advocate and Linda Evelyn Namulindwa who, according to her bio, is a Water Resources Engineer and environmentalist.
Atuhaire and her team have accused Parliament of being wasteful and of misusing public resources for selfish gains. They have claimed that the recruitment process in Parliament is riddled with favouritism and nepotism. They have tabled documents to prove some of their claims.
In one intriguing post, Dr Ssentongo revealed that he was part of a recruitment exercise in Parliament were jobs ended up being given to relatives or friends of big shots in Parliament.
“Recruitment at Parliament has been one of the most corrupt processes. Some years ago, I was invited to be part of an interview panel for Parliament Research Officers. The Chair was Dr Baryomunsi. I witnessed a nuisance of a recruitment exercise, for such a critical position. The Chair had a relative among the applicants. I jokingly suggested to him to excuse himself from chairing, he smiled and said he would handle. The applicant couldn’t even explain research basics & had low grades on transcript. To my shock, she was scored 80s. I had awarded 35%,” Dr Ssentongo wrote.
“Another of the weakest candidates, we were told before she came in, was a relative to the Speaker then (Hon. Kadaga). She even had Retaken Research Methods. Again, after failing most of our questions, she got 80s. I gave her 30 something. The most painful thing, I later learnt, those with very good grades, who also excelled at the interview, did not get the job.”
The Parliament team has pushed back, accusing some of the people behind the campaign of nursing personal agendas against some of the leaders of the House.
They have defended Parliament’s expenditure and record claiming the law is on their side.
Manzil and his team have tabled documents showing what they call as “steller preformance” of the Anita Among-led Parliament which has reportedly passed a record number of bills and allegedly conducted more business than any in recent history.
“For more misinformation, follow @AAgather. Name just one staff from LOP’s office who has been transferred to Speaker’s or Obore’s. And also, it’s the preserve of HR to sieve & hire. The same way they didn’t deem you right for employment, is the same way perhaps the PA was,” Ocaido wrote sarcastically in response to one of Atuhaire’s posts highlighting the irregularities in the recruitment process of Parliament.
Chris Obore, the director of Communication at Parliament said although they acknowledge concerns raised in the ongoing #UgandaParliamentExhibition, the discussion is “laden with distortions.”
He said in the spirit of openness, accountability and transparency, they will study the specifics of all concerns and come out with a report.
For now, the guns are still blazing and the mainstream media is happy to dodge the bullets.
Where will it end? Keep your eyes glued on bbegmedia.com.
