More than 200 days after Joel Ssenyonyi was appointed leader of the opposition, he has failed to galvanize opposition members in Parliament with many MPs openly rebelling against him.
At 37 years, Ssenyonyi is the second youngest politician to become leader of opposition in Uganda’s political history after Basil Bataringaya who occupied the position in 1962 at the age of 35.
Whether it is his age or his style of politics, it is clear that many opposition MPs have not warmed up to Ssenyonyi’s authority.
One opposition MP, speaking to Bbeg Media on condition of anonymity put this down to Ssenyonyi’s style of politics which has alienated “moderates” in the House.
“He has brought his street activism to Parliament yet some things require to be handled diplomatically. You have to work harmoniously with the speaker if your agenda is to be considered,” said the MP who has spent two terms in Parliament.
Ssenyonyi’s rocky start as LOP mirrors that of FDC’s Nathan Nandala Mafabi in 2011.
Nandala, who had made a name as the uncompromising chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee in the 8th Parliament, found it difficult to win the support of his members given his abrasive style.
Not only did he fall out with MPs from DP and UPC over the opposition failed to agree on whether or not they should participate in the EALA elections, he was isolated by FDC members.
Beatrice Anywar, Okumu Reagan, Odonga Otto and Alice Alaso occasionally attacked him.
With time, Nandala’s circle of friends dwindled and after he lost to Gen Mugisha Muntu in the FDC presidential elections in 2012, he was replaced by veteran journalist Wafula Oguttu who steadied the ship.
Similarly, Ssenyonyi is yet to win the confidence of many legislators. Some despise him because of his age and relative political inexperience. Others accuse him of being “full of himself” and failing to consult senior politicians.
Some say he doesn’t know when to employ the activist and pacifist approaches in Parliament.
Unlike his predecessor, Mathias Mpuuga, he appears beholden only to the radical brand of politics which may be attractive to many NUP leaders and supporters but is repulsive to many MPs in Parliament.
That is why his loudest cheerleaders are Makindye East MP, Derrick Nyeko; Mityana Municiplaity MP, Francis Zaake; Nakaseke SouthMP Paulson Luttanaguzi; Kyadondo East MP, Muwada Nkunyingi, Kassanda Woman MP Flavia Nabagabe and Kampala Woman MP, Shamin Malende. This subscribe to this brand of politics.
In the process he has alienated MPs like Medard Ssegoona, Asuman Basalirwa, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, Abdu Katuntu, Betty Awol Ocan and even Mpuuga.
We have also been told that Speaker Anita Among, who is very sensitive to criticism, has taken kindly Ssenyonyi’s style of “shouting” back at her during debate on the floor.
For this reason, she has decided to cut him “off” that is why recently, Ssenyonyi complained that the parliamentary commission sometimes sits without his knowledge.
Without the blessing or goodwill of the speaker, there is little headway a leader of opposition can make in Parliament.
Ssenyonyi’s brilliance as an individual is not debatable. As chairperson of COSASE, he performed excellently and churned out reports in record time.
Even the occasions when he has raised a matter on the floor of Parliament, his submissions are coherent and rich in knowledge.
Yet what he has failed to do for now is to transform this individual brilliance into an acceptable style of managing opposition MPs. This remains Ssenyonyi’s biggest challenge.
