Former Kawempe North legislator Al-Hajji Latif Ssebaggala Ssengendo has confirmed to TV10GanoMazima that he has abandoned his political dream to replace Muhammad Ssegirinya as Kawempe North member of parliament come 2026.
In 2021, Ssebaggala who had been in parliament for 20 years was defeated by the then Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) Councilor Ssegirinya who contested on the National Unity Platform (NUP) ticket.
Ssebaggala declined to take legal action against Ssegirinya and concentrated on clandestine political mobilization.Voters in the constituency were very sure that he was coming to reclaim his political seat.
However, exclusively speaking to TV10GanoMazima, Ssebaggala revealed that in 2026, he is going to contest against Emmanuel Sserunjogi for Kawempe Division mayorship seat.
When asked why he abandoned the juicy MP seat and decided to contest for a mayor, he explained that he spent a number of years in parliament and made a big contribution to his people and now he wants to serve them in another capacity as a Division mayor.
TV10GanoMazima established that Barbie Itungo Kyagulanyi, the wife to Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) has a hand in Ssebaggala’s decision to contest as mayor.
Itungo is one of the strong members of the inner circle in NUP who are highly respected given that she is the first lady and her decisions are always final and not contested.
However, Ssebaggala’s decision to change his mind and to contest against Sserunjogi has created for him a hostile environment in the area because Sserunjogi’s supporters have started sabotaging his new campaign by mobilizing people not to listen to him.
“He should retire from active politics, he has nothing to add to Kawempe and we shall not allow him to address people in our presence,” one of the foot soldiers who is a close friend to Sserunjogi said.
“He shouldn’t waste his resources and energy because he will lose in 2026. Bobi Wine will not abandon people he knows very well in favour of people like Ssebaggala who was a staunch Democratic Party (DP) supporter,” a source said.
Other sources said that Itungo is still making political calculations after being advised to contest for Wakiso district woman Member of Parliament to replace NUP’s Betty Esther Naluyima who is a relative to veteran journalist and also spokesperson of the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU) Andrew Mwenda.
Mwenda revealed that Naluyima is one of the NUP candidates in 2021 who were surprised by their win because she did not have money to move around the entire district campaigning.
Before Itungo comes into the political picture, after one Sylvia Namutyaba, a foot soldier and also a darling to Bobi Wine also declared interest to contest against her for NUP ticket come 2026.
TV10GanoMazima has further established that Ssegirinya is also still interested in the seat and even though he is still receiving treatment, he has plans to start his political campaign in 2025 after fully recovering from a strange disease. He is currently still getting medication from Nairobi Kenya.
“He has a lot of unfinished business that is why he is coming back,” Alex Luwemba his personal assistant said.
Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro the party deputy spokesperson is also interested in the seat because he is very sure that it will be very difficult for him to win a political seat back home in Busoga.
President Museveni’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) has used a lot of energy to make sure that it sweeps Busoga and removes all traces of the opposition.
Kampala city lawyer Erais Nalukoola has also declared interest to contest on the same seat and has confirmed talks with Bobi Wine so that he is fronted by NUP.
Since Norbert Mao the DP president general entered a political marriage with President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s government, Nalukoola, who is DP’s chief legal advisor feels his career in the party is threatened because he protested against the agreement.
Sources close to Nalukoola said that come 2025, he is likely to cross to NUP if the ongoing negotiations with Bobi Wine succeed but if they fail, he is going to stand as an independent.
Nalukoola is very understands the political dynamics in Kawempe Division because he was once a youth councillor. By that time, he was still a student at Law Development Centre and a personal lawyer to a number of prominent families in Kawempe.
Bobi Wine is at the cross roads given that he has to take a tough decision of stoping his wife from contesting for a political office come 2026 as he did in 2021 when he stopped her from contesting for Wakiso district woman Member of Parliament seat.
Recently, Commissioner of Parliament Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba revealed that Bobi Wine is under siege and his family members are using him as a weapon to gain politically, socially and economically. However, Bobi Wine rubbished the allegation.
