From the onset, what were the odds that Hajat Faridah Nambi, the NRM candidate would win the Kawempe North Constituency seat?
The telltale signs from the beginning, were those of indignation and resignation. The body language, portrayed a demeanor that separated the body from soul. There was no enthusiasm at the headquarters of the NRM party to the point that the media team headed by Hon. Emmanuel Dombo and Mr. Rogers Mulinda prioritised registration of NRM membership upcountry, which was more lucrative in terms of allowances over and above the Kawempe by-election which had a small purse. They had to drum up support through media and public engagement which was all left to Mrs, Rosemary Senninde in charge of Mobilisation. It turned out a daunting task for her, ending in an inevitable loss. Honestly, Hajat Faridah Nambi had a lot of baggage to shed off based on numerous allegations that were not convincingly countered.
The first was the question of her true residence, the rumour mill had it that she was a resident of Makindye Division not Kawempe Division. No cogent rebuttal was offered rendering the lie plausible. No voter wants to be represented by a “foreigner”. No amount of coaxing would stem the wave of allegations, let alone that nothing convincing was offered.
The other issue, was her character as a person. It turns out that Kawempe politics is ghetto driven politics that require one of the kind, Nambi is a planned kid who does not resonate with the sprawling ghettos of Bwaise, Kalerwe and other slums. The voters never viewed her as one of their own. Her laidback character does not exude a prolific public speaker, her style could not fit the “rabadaba ghetto style”. She was found non-captivating to the predominantly ghetto voters.
The fact that she comes from a highly political family of the number two in the NRM hierarchy was a mixed bag of both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage was that her family name is visible, she never needed self-introduction to the public, invoking the name of Hajji Kigongo was a trademark coup. At least a great percentage of the voters know him as a household name. However, in an area with a strong squalid slum presence, it was going to be a challenge to her, relating to their lack of jobs, high cost of living, and no fixed income, they attribute their plight to people like Kigongo. So in Nambi they saw her father in their predicament. This worked against her.
The other rumour that Kaladi decided to contest against Nambi from the same party after failing in the process of picking the NRM candidate. It was rumoured that her intransigence to snub the president’s call to get out of the race, was a way of settling a family score. The family trinity of Nambi-Kigongo-Kaladi is embroiled in a feud that had to be sorted publicly. Kaladi was in here to inflict some pain on the Kigongo family after a strong fallout. This caused confusion among NRM voters. Ultimately, given her paltry showing, it seems Kigongo did his footwork well to defuse her chicanery. But, in a society with strong social fabric, she got some sympathy mostly from women voters who read mischief in this family fallout.
The other issue that worked against her, was her being a woman in a predominantly Moslem constituency. Conservative Muslims still think a woman should play second fiddle in public affairs. Listening to different views in the media, it was clear that a section of voters were clearly opposed to her candidacy strictly because she was a Muslim woman. To them that position, should be occupied by a man. Religious sentiments are strong dogmatic beliefs that are hard to counter and most discussions take place in the confines of the mosques. These are strong centers of influence yet most of the Imams are conservative in their belief.
The Mobilisation of the voters was solely under Hon. Rosemary Ssenninde, who found herself overwhelmed by the work. Most of her colleagues at Plot 10, Kyadondo Road were a no show on ground. She was over-stretched, living critical decisions to people who were not firm enough to face the challenges at hand. They made tactical mistakes like felling people from other divisions while sidelining the local leaders. This alienated the local supporters from the candidate. Campaigns require facilitation which was not forthcoming till the final day. There is unwritten law, that in the NRM, any party activity is funded, when the funds do n0t come, no work will be executed.
The other issues outside the NRM just conspired to make a bad situation worse. The biggest elephant in the room was how the security apparatus handled the eventual winner in the contest; Elias Nalukoola. True, peace and order is paramount in a politically charged atmosphere, but the tactical decisions on ground gave political mileage to Nalukoola. The actual cause of the fracas was Bobi Wine’s bodyguard called Geofrey Ongima aka High tower who attempted to grab a gun from a police man. That initial attack does not exist on the footage circulating on social media. The reaction of security officers was to come to the defence of the police office under attack. The reaction of security officers went viral and twisted the real issue. The rebuttal from security spokes persons was so confusing, at first there was not synergy in the message, while others distanced themselves from JATT, almost disowning it, and others acknowledged them. The mixed messaging created confusion in the public.
What does this portend for future elections? It is now clear that the Militant training of NUP foot soldiers is going to be a security challenge. They now think they are equivalent to police training and can challenge them.
In a recent address at NUP headquarters after the Kawempe elections, Geofrey Ongima aka High tower vowed to attack security officers, their children and other family members. This is a direct threat to the security apparatus. He threatens killing family members, asserting that he will follow up children of security officers in schools were they study from, their homes and family members. The growing trend of physically challenging security officers by NUP foot soldiers is a dangerous recipe for violence in days ahead.