By KT Reporter
There is something Bobi Wine must be having against Betty Nambooze, a very senior member of the NUP caucus who has actually been in parliament longer than anyone else in that NUP group.
She first became MP in 2010 during the time of the 9th parliament at the time Edward Sekandi was still the speaker. However, in NUP, decision-makers don’t seem to value her that much. And this is because Bobi Wine and members of his inner circle know how much contempt she privately has for them deep inside her heart.
She privately feels ashamed even that Kyagulanyi is now the new political boss and kingmaker on the scene before whom she has to bow, kneel and be a big-time sycophant in order to be able to get the NUP meal card without which she would have lost her MP seat in 2021.
In 2017, Nambooze registered her contempt for Robert Kyagulanyi when she asked for facilitation to go to Kyadondo east and campaign for him agqinst Apollo Kantinti, Nkunyingi Muwadda and NRM’s Sitenda Ssebalu.
She refused but the Kibanda Rasta Man won his race without her at the time she considered herself to be the chief kingmaker for the opposition in Buganda.
Three years later in 2020, she was to come crawling at Kamwokya for Kyagulanyi to give her the flag for NUP which is how she survived defeat for Mukono municipality seat.
She won with a big margin and she started to see herself as the next LoP for the 2021-2026 period because she was the most senior and lomgest serving MP in the NUP group.
The likes of Mpuuga, Segona came to parliament in 2011 and found her there. She also thought she was bigger Buganda figure than them but still Bobi Wine bypassed her and considered Mpuuga for LoP and the position of NUP deputy president in Buganda.
Having had links at Mengo for years as the head of Kabaa’s civic education committee which was supervised by Daudi Mpanga, Nambooze positioned herself to become the new Buganda caucus chairperson but still Kyagulanyi overlooked her and gave it to Muwanga Kivumbi.
Then it came to committee chairpersons and none of the prominent ones like Cosase and PAC was given to her. Instead, Bobi Wine considered Joel Ssenyonyi, Asuman Basalirwa, Medard Segona and others.
Nambooze, who speaks about her people’s problems only at NBS barometer and rarely talks in parliament or committees, was given the less significant committee of government assurances deputized by Sewungu and together, they didn’t do much under that one too.
Later on, she was fired from there and it was given to Joyce Bagala and Abed Bwanika both of them in their first term. She was transfered to the obscure docket of shadow minister for internal affairs.
When Mpuuga fell out with Magere, many thought Nambooze’s time to shine had finally come. She was very outspoken against Mpuuga, which forced Abed Bwanika to go to NBS TV and expose her money-making secrets at parliament.
Nambooze hoped to at least be made new DP for Buganda. This never happened. Instead, Muwanga Kivumbi, who had deeper friendship with Mpuuga than with her, was made NUP DP for Buganda.
Muwanga also retained the Buganda caucus chair which many thoughts would be given to Nambooze. Even for Mukono municipality she was finished for 2026 if Bobi Wine hadn’t removed lawyer George Musisi. On surviving Musisi, Nambooze, who now is assured of keeping her job up to 2031, became so excited and began buying trucks of groceries, goats, cows and chickens to go and buy herself more at Magere while character-assasinating Mpuuga.
When Bobi Wine got problems with Buganda kingdom over the Kabaka’s sickness, it was Nambooze who stepped forward to defend him while likening him to Ben Kiwanuka the political giant who the Mengo establishment shunned in the 1960s and sided with Milton Obote who later on turned against the kingdom.
Betty Nambooze had also hoped to leverage her being a catholic to increase her chances at replacing Mpuuga as NUP DP for Buganda but Kyagulanyi coiled when he realised that she wasn’t that much connected or networked inside the roman catholic church of Uganda. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
