Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine’s henchman and also the National Unity Platform(NUP) deputy spokesperson Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro has narrated how JEEMA has been severally used to weaken their party and their principal.

A tough speaking Mufumbiro revealed that JEEMA top leadership decided to corporate with Dr. Kizza Besigye and his team under their political pressure group the People’s Front for Transition (PFT) whose aim is to weaken NUP but they will not be successfully because people have already trusted Bobi Wine to liberate the country from what he termed as dictatorial regime under President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.

He wondered how the ‘bad hearted’ JEEMA top leadership could plan to pull down Bobi Wine when he single handedly helped them to secure a slot in parliament and join IPOD.

“When Basalirwa stood for Bugiri Municipality by election, all known opposition players abandoned him. I remember very well FDC was supporting their own party candidate Eunice Namatende, and I remember I was seated with Bobi Wine and he asked me why people in the opposition are not supporting Basalirwa when he has been a very active in political activities in the opposition. He made a number of consultations including meeting some elders in the Muslim community who directed him to make sure that he delivers victory for Basalirwa,” Mufumbiro said when appeared on Pearl FM radio on Tuesday.

He added that at his first political rally in Bugiri, Basalirwa’s car was stoned by angry youths who were trying to warn Bobi Wine that he was campaigning for a hypocrite.

Mufumbiro added that other members of the opposition were asking Bobi Wine why he was campaigning for a failure.

He narrated that the next day, Bobi Wine, his friend Nubian Li secretly went deep in the ghettos of Bugiri and started interacting with the youths in the ghetto  to know why they are fighting Basalirwa, he used his gheto influence to convince them to join Basalirwa’s campaign team.

He recounted that by then, Basalirwa had already lost hope of winning the by election but he was very surprised when he later got a huge crowd when he was campaigning with Bobi Wine and later won the by election.

He said that on the eve of the election, Mufumbiro and other Bobi Wine people were detained in police cells for four days and were released after Basalirwa was announced the winner.

He explained that with all the above explanation, it was in bad faith for JEEMA Secretary General to write a public demining letter to Bobi Wine over his comments on a BBC interview with Hardtalk host Stephen Sackur.

“Mr. Sentamu, you have the right to support homosexuality, without demonising your fellow leaders who have treated you with respect since they came to know you,” Basalirwa’s letter reads in parts.

He further asked him to retract the accusations against fellow opposition leaders.

However, Mufumbiro told JEEMA leadership to understand that Bobi Wine is an international leader who has the obligation to fight for all people’s human rights including the homosexuals.

He added that it is an open secret that the homosexuality law was brought to target Bobi Wine and confirmed that there are opposition legislators in parliament who are in bed with President Museveni’s government.

The nonsense Mufumbiro blasted Bobi Wine attackers on the issue of opposition legislators working with Museveni and named people like Dr. Twaha Kagabo and Jimmy Lwanga who openly declared their support to MK Movement a political pressure group establish to mobilize support for Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

In the BBC interview, Bobi Wine alleged that some of his NUP party legislators are in bed with President Museveni and it is the reason why they voted for the passing of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

It should be remembered that NUP’s Medard Lubega Ssegona, the Busiro East legislator is the one who seconded the motion to table the Anti-Homosexuality Bill and all NUP legislators including the Leader of Opposition in Parliament Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba supported the motion.

When given the opportunity to comment on the matter on the floor of parliament, Basalirwa said that he is very proud of moving the motion which resulted in the Anti-Homosexuality Act claiming that the Act is very popular in the public domain.

He denied the allegation that he drove the bill because of the invisible hand behind it as Bobi Wine claims and that the bill was brought to fight him because of his friendship with the gay people.

Annet Anita Among, the Speaker of parliament, assured the public that no one will threaten Uganda to change its stand on homosexuals.

The Act was challenged in the Constitutional Court by human rights activists including veteran journalist Andrew Mwenda.

By Sengooba Alirabaki

Maverick Lands Junior Minister Dr. Sam Mayanja has directed the arrest of Mary Babirye the Assistant Registrar at the Supreme Court to answer charges related to land eviction in Luwero district.

Mayanja, a seasoned lawyer and also a founding partner of the famous Kampala Associated Advocates (KAA) told theGrapevine that Ugandans have powers to arrest any person suspected to have committed a crime and even present him or her to the authorities.

Mayanja who is also a university law don revealed that as a minister deployed by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to help him to handle national issues related to land, he has received a number of tearful testimonies from locals in Luwero district claiming that Babirye illegally evicted them from their pieces of land.

“It was embarrassing to see uneducated locals speak on the microphone with evidence accusing a judicial officer who is well versed with the law of broking it and illegally evicting them from their land,” Mayanja said.

He added, “The president issued a presidential directive stopping illegal land evictions and directed the district security committees to work with the lands minister to curve out a way of implementing court orders issued by judicial officers in connection to land evictions. These are the very directives that Babirye intentionally violated.”

He alleged that locals told him at a big gathering that the judicial officer is using armed security men including from the army and police to evict people from their land forcefully and because of her office, even the area authorities including the police’s land protection unit fear to intervene.

Mayanja pleaded with his Kings College Budo Old Boy the Chief Justice Owiny Dollo to take up the matter very serious and save the image of the judiciary because local people are claiming that judiciary is full of corrupt judicial officers who connive with land grabbers to evict them from their land.

He explained that the judicial officers together with officials from the Directorate of Public Prosecution (DPP) connive with land grabbers to fabricate criminal charges of theft against locals and remand them in prison to smoothen the process of grabbing their land.

Once they take the land, they fence it and hire armed men to protect it.

“As the head of the institution, my friend the Chief Justice has to go to Luwero and address a gathering to dennounce Babirye’s criminal actions and also apologise to the affected people otherwise  we are throwing this country into turmoil,” Mayanja said.

He further accused Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi’s sister Daina Tebegala of also using her influence and connections in security circles to evict people from their land and when they try to protest her actions, she orders for their arrest.”

When asked why he didn’t privately reach out to the Chief Justice to explain to him the alleged criminal actions committed by the judicial officer, Mayanja disclosed that he was assigned by Museveni to save poor people who helped him to take power in 1986.

So he has no time to ask for an appointment with the Chief Justice who will direct him to put his complaint in writing, attach with evidence yet people are suffering.

He explained that his main mission is to empower the tenants on mailo land to know that they own their land legally and must fight for their interest against the mailo owners who act with impunity.

He warned Babirye never to step foot in Luwero because the local people will arrest her.

” People of Luwero should share the benefits of their sweat. They fought to bring this government in power but because someone is holding a big office at the Supreme Court, she raids their gardens and throws them out, this will not be accepted,” Mayanja said.

theGrapevine tries to reach out to Babirye for a comment but failed.

It should be remembered that Chief Justice Dollo issued guidelines which should be followed by judicial officers when dealing with land issues.

Furious Kampala Lord Mayor Ssalongo Erias Lukwago has threatened to break the legs of Kawempe Division mayor Emmanuel Sserunjogi Oweddembe over Kampala Lord mayoral seat.

Sserunjogi is among the aspirants who have shown interest to contest for the position that Lukwago has held for three terms (since 2011).

Sserunjogi is clandestinely mobilizing for the ticket from his party the National Unity Platform (NUP).

However, he has to face stiff competition for NUP ticket from Makindye Division mayor Ali Kasirye Mulyanyama and Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu’s elder brother Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu alias chairman Nyanzi.

Others who are pondering joining the race include former Makindye East legislator Ibrahim Kasozi, Kampala Central legislator Muhammad Nsereko and former Makindye East legislator Michael Mabikke, Kampala Central Division mayor Salim Uhuru and others.

Recently a tough Lukwago told a journalist to deliver information to Sserujogi that if doesn’t stop his hypocrisy he is going to be badly beaten and his legs will be broken.

Omuloodi claims that Sserunjogi has always been cited sneaking into City Hall in cahoots with Kampala affairs State Minister Joseph Kabuye Kyofatogabye.

He claims that Sserunjogi is among cartel that is set to benefit from the Shs250bn which was allocated to help in the rehabilitation of city roads that are in bad condition.

Lukwago boasted of how they forced Kyofatogabye out of City Hall to the extent that he now even fears to pass around the Lord Mayor’s office.

When we contacted Sserunjogi, he declined to comment on the matter.

However theGrapevine established that there is an ongoing campaign within NUP top party leadership not to buy the idea of cooperating with FDC Katonga faction come 2026.

By Grapevine reporter