By KT Reporter
As far as the prime minister Robinah Nabbanja is concerned, communications expert Charles Odongtho is a fired man who no longer has any employment contract with the office of prime minister (OPM).
In August, Nabbanja concluded that Odongtho wasn’t good enough to be part of her press unit as prime minister and ordered both the permanent secretary Dunstan Balaba and principal HR officer Nathan Namwiriya to ensure that Odongtho’s contract wasn’t renewed after the 4 months extension she had offered him on compassionate grounds ended.
She opted to have the more loyal and harmless Jjingo Francis formerly of NTV, to head her press unit and that is what is happening. Jjingo is working with other staff including photographer Ibrahim Kasoha, Doreen Nasasira the light-skinned lady and Derrick Senyonga.
None of these press unit workers is sad over the fact that Odongtho has been terminated. His office is supposed to be fixed with changed locks to deny him access but that hasn’t happened because he shares it with other staff.
Nabbanja says those empkoyees are enough for her press unit and doesn’t want Odongtho anymore. The prime minister doesn’t even understand why Odongtho continues re-tweeting and posting stuff on X as if he is still part of the OPM, which isn’t the case anymore.
Odongtho who fears to be humiliated if the public gets to know that he was fired for not being good enough to meet Nabbanja’s press unit standards, these days likes hanging around the corridors of the OPM building where he moves from one office to another; taking tea and doing a bit of rumor mongering.
He also does voluntary work for Alice Kaboyo the Luwero Rwenzori minister who he thinks can influence the president to intervene and order for his reinstatement. Kaboyo is powerful because she is very close to the first lady and her children; having served as the baby sitter for all Museveni’s children.
Odongtho these days helps her on social media errands and gets some bu-allowances to keep going. He also re-tweets stuff for other ministers at OPM except Nabbanja. Insiders say that whenever Odongtho learns that Nabbanja has arrived, he looks for where to hide, including in people’s office cabins, because he fears that the ruthless woman from Kakumiro will embarrass him and order security to force him out.
He had been used to coming around on Mondays and confidently attend the technical management committee meetings of the OPM which meets every Monday when Nabbanja is away for the cabinet meeting in Entebbe.
This week, Nabbanja having learnt of Odongtho’s elusiveness of defiantly sneaking into the Monday meetings because she is away, demanded to know from the permanent secretary why someone who is no longer an employee of OPM continues to be allowed into such high level meetings. The permanent secretary Dunstan Balaba panicked and ordered the Undersecretary finance & administration Patricia Lakidi to ensure that Odongtho’s defiance is brought to an end.
Lakidi, a seasoned civil servant, is the one who chaired the Monday meeting because Balaba was absent. Lakidi immediately demanded to know what Odongtho was still doing at OPM without a valid job contract. Odongtho had no answer and this is a meeting that has to be attended by Commissioners and heads of departments yet he isn’t one anymore.
Odongtho was humiliated and ordered to match out of the meeting. He bowed and matched out, clearly deflated like a tier. He was advised to keep away or else risk being declared idle and disorderly and charged of the same.
KT News was unable to confirm if he is still holding on to the official OPM vehicle but its true that his driver too has been withdrawn and switched to chauffer Jjingo Francis who Nabbanja considers to be a very good performer of work in her press unit. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
