Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s MK Movement Vice Chairperson in charge of Buganda Frank Gashumba is in a bitter fight with President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s Special Presidential Assistant in charge of the Office of the NRM National Chairperson Hajjat Hadijah Uzeiye Namyalo over Copyright ownership of ‘Omalako Jajja Tova Ku Main Sigala ku Ballot’ political slogan.
Gen Muhoozi, the senior presidential advisor in charge of special operations and also the first son, appointed Gashumba to be part of the leadership of his MK movement, a political pressure group which is mobilizing for political support for him to replace his father as the next president of Uganda.
On the other hand, Namyalo is also mobilizing support for president Museveni to stand for presidency in 2026 and beyond through their political slogan ‘Omalako Jajja Tova Ku Main’.
In her application through her lawyers of K&K Advocates, Namyalo objected to an application filed by Gashumba to Uganda Registration Service Bureau (URSB) seeking to secure copyright for ‘Omalako Jajja Tova Ku Main’ slogan.
She claims that she is the rightful originator and creator of the said slogan which she launched on 19th October 2022 at her office at Kyambogo a Kampala suburb.
She refutes Gashumba’s application which stated that the contested work was birthed on 5th November, 2022 and she boasts that she has evidence of widespread use and public exposure of the slogan through various media outlets including social media.
She accuses Gashumba of trying to infringe on her intellectual property rights that were created in the course of her work as the head of the Office of the National Chairperson (ONC) of the NRM party.
Namyalo further explains that she developed the contested slogan together with other NRM youths based on their own creativity and ingenuity and they hold the exclusive rights of the slogan.
She explains that allowing Gashumba’s application is going to cause confusion among the public regarding the true originator of the slogan and Gashumba cannot register the name and images of president Museveni without his consent.
She adds that it is unfair for Gashumba to register a slogan in which she invested a lot of her time, efforts and resources.
She says that the applicant is filing the application in bad faith with the intentions of unfairly exploiting and infringe her rights.
“Based on the aforementioned grounds, I request that this office rejects the registration of Application No; UG/C/2023/89 for the Copyright of the work titled “Omalako Jajja Tova Ku Main Sigala ku Ballot; Jajja We Command You To Stand Again in 2026 and Beyond; Bazzukulu ba Museveni”. I am prepared to provide additional evidence, such as dated materials, media coverage, witnesses statements, or any other supporting documentations to further substantiate my claim of originality and prior use,” she argues.
“I trust that your Office will thoroughly examine the evidence and arguments presented and make a fair and just decision in accordance with the applicable copyright laws and regulations,” her objection letter to URSB reads in part.
When contacted, Gashumba told theGrapevine that he is the rightful owner of all the art materials including t-shirts, cups, branding materials, bill boards used by the Office of the NRM National Chairperson because he created them himself.
He explains that when Namyalo was appointed to head ONC, she called him seeking an appointment which he accepted and they met at Speke Hotel Kampala.
During their meeting, she asked him to compose for her a slogan which will attract youth to support Museveni’s move to stand for presidency in 2026.
Gashumba narrates that the contested slogan was created by himself and his brother and the move to ask Museveni to stand for 2026 was not initiated by Namyalo but Ibrahim Kitatta, the Lwengo district chairperson.
“I came in as a brand specialist because they were ignorant about branding and how to choose attractive words. The day they launched the campaign, I was there at Namyalo’s office and I was in charge of branding and media,” Gasumba says.
He adds that his problem with Namyalo started when she decided to give away his business of branding to other people.
When he asked her why she is sidelining him, she told him that the president ordered her to share the said business with other NRM supporters.
Namyalo later even went a step further to fire him.
Gashumba recounts that he reported her to Al-Haji Moses Kigongo, the NRM National Vice Chairperson and Capt. Mike Mukula, the NRM chairperson in charge of Eastern Uganda seeking for mediation but they all told him that Namyalo was so arrogant.
They further told him that she told them that the only person she can listen to when it comes to her office is the appointing authority the president.
That is when he also decided to run to URSB to register the copyright.
Gashumba claims that Namyalo took business away from him because he decided to support Gen. Muhoozi thinking that he is competing with his father which is not true.
He further boasts that he is also the owner of the Standby Generator and he is ready to fight to the last drop of his blood to restore his business because he is also a Ugandan.
“The President gave her Shs400m to purchase 40,000 t-shirts and out of that number she gave me only 3000. I have a number of witnesses who are ready to testify on my side because I have spent over Shs1bn on that project,” he says.
“You have all the cows, why then do you want to fight me and take away my rabbit. I just hope that one day while she is sleeping in her bed she rethinks her decision and ponders why she took away my business yet I did not commit any crime,” a furious Gashumba says.
By Sengooba Alirabaki
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