Can Baryayanga retain his Kabale Municipality MP seat?

Mr Baryayanga lost the NRM party primaries in 2010 for the same seat to then Tourism State minister Serapio Rukundo and in the 2011 General Election, he was nominated as an Independent. He then garnered 7,868 votes, defeating Minister Rukundo who got 5,222 votes.

In 2016, Mr Baryayanga also campaigned as an independent candidate and defeated the NRM party flag bearer, Dr Francis Runumi, with a difference of 2,100 votes. Others in the race then were Prof Augustus Niwagaba, Dr Thaddeus Nicholas Kamara, Mr Justus Bagamuhunda, Mr Geoffrey Nzaana, Mr Isaac Katureebe and Mr James Tugume Magabo.

Before the nominations for 2021 General Election, Dr Kamara defected to the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and went through unopposed as the FDC party flag bearer for the municipality parliamentary seat.

“I won the NRM primaries in 2015 but my victory was stolen by the party administration in Kabale District. I opted to contest as an Independent then but I lost the 2016  election because most of my campaign agents and supporters were demoralised because of the NRM primary election malpractices,” he says.

“Now that I am an FDC party flag bearer, I feel well positioned to consolidate my previous support and also use the FDC party structures to win the 2021 elections. I am more organised and I am seeing victory,” Dr Kamara adds.
He says the 20 years he worked as a medical doctor in different government hospitals and as the vice chairperson of Mbarara University Council gives him a better profile compared to the other candidates in the race.

“I am ready to fix the leadership gap in Kabale Municipality for the last 10-years. The fact that voters in the municipality have been giving parliamentary candidates only two terms in office, I think it is my turn now,” Dr Kamara says.
But the NRM flag bearer, Sheikh Kamugisha, also says he is convinced that he will win the 2021 election, arguing that none of the losers in the party primary elections came up as an Independent.

“In 2011, the NRM primary election results were not clear and gave chance to an Independent candidate to sail through. In 2016, all the candidates that lost the NRM party primary election contested as Independents thus undermining the strength of the NRM party flag bearer,” he says.
“This time round if all the NRM members rally behind the flag bearer, I have no doubt that the party flag shall fly high in Parliament,” he adds.

NRM candidate optimistic
Sheikh Kamugisha has been the Kabale District NRM party youth chairperson and before that he served as a youth leader in different capacities. He adds that the fact that Kabale Municipality is becoming a city in 2023, it requires his leadership skills to lobby the central government for more funds for supporting poverty eradication programmes and creation of jobs.

“I am coming in to bridge the political generational gap between the senior NRM leaders and the young ones by not opposing the ruling government but consolidating its achievements. I am also coming to bridge political gaps that have been created by players that attach politics to religion and other sectarian tendencies forgetting the core principles of NRM party that calls for nationalism and patriotism,” he says.

“NRM party candidates have been defeated in Kabale because of intrigue, which I feel this time will not happen again,” Sheikh Kamugisha adds.
But the incumbent, Mr Baryayanga, who is also the dean of all the Independents in Parliament, says he still has a lot to do for the municipality. He says besides lobbying for the reduction of electricity power tariffs from Shs980 to Shs680.7per unit, he is one of the movers of a parliamentary motion that aims at waiving off water and electricity bills for all Ugandans because of the coronavirus lockdown.

He adds that he has been defeating NRM party flag bearers because of his transparent leadership styles, being reliable, and dependable.
“I lobbied for the Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development programme that tarmacked several roads in Kabale Municipality. I was instrumental in elevating the municipality to city status,” he says.

“I also lobbied for funds for the construction of the Kabale Central Market. I did not support the amendment of the Constitution for the removal of the presidential age limit and I voted ‘no’ against the introduction of OTT [over the top tax],” Mr Baryayanga adds.

He has also donated one hoe and maize seedlings to every household in Kabale Town as one way of supporting agriculture. He donated assorted hospital equipment to Kamukira health centre, Rugarama and Kabale hospitals, besides the construction of an outpatient shade at Rutoma Health Centre III.

“I feel that I still have more development plans for the people of Kabale Municipality and it’s the reason that I am seeking to be re-elected to Parliament,” Mr Baryayanga says.
Other candidates, Ms Nahabwe and Mr Kyarimpa, say that they are ready to lobby for the installation of street lights on all the roads and empower the urban  poor. They also promise to lobby for job creation  for the youth.

“ Once elected into office, I am ready to lobby for funds to help the vulnerable people afford basic necessities of their lives. I will also introduce skills development centres where the youth and women can be trained as job creators,” Ms Nahabwe says.
On his part, Mr Rubasha, another contender, says he will lobby for the purchase of an ambulance that will help in transporting patients and expectant mothers to health facilities. He also says he will emphasise the establishment of cottage industries aimed at job creation for the youth.

“ I am also in touch with some investors that want to put an iron smelting factory in Kabale Municipality, and I hope this will create jobs for our people,” he says.
“Once elected I will also lobby for funds to establish a skills development centre where vacists and fresh graduates can learn technical skills in knitting, art and designs, bricklaying and carpentry, and hair dressing, among others,” Mr Rubasha adds.

About incumbent
Andrew Baryayanga was born on September 24, 1979.
He attended Kigezi High School and Kigezi College Butobere for both his O-Level and A-Level academic qualifications. Baryayanga further advanced to Makerere University where he graduated in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts in Arts degree. He also acquired a CCNA certification in 2008 given his newly found love for information technology at the time. He continued to advance his computer knowledge by acquiring an MCSE certification (2010) from Tirat Carmel in Israel.

In the current Parliament, Baryayanga is the dean of Independents and serves on the Committee on Commissions, State Authorities & State Enterprises (Cosase) and the Committee on Natural Resources. In the 9th Parliament, while serving on Cosase and the Committee on Natural Resources, he challenged the Inspector General of Government (IGG) inquiry on the Karuma hydropower project in the constitutional court. Mr Baryayanga is also the founding director of Baata Engineering Company.

About municipality
Kabale Municipality is located in Kigezi Sub-region. It is approximately 420kms by road, south-west of Kampala. According to the 2002 national population census, Kabale Municipality had 41,350 inhabitants. The Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos), estimated the population of the town at 44,200 in 2010. In 2011, Ubos estimated the population at 44,600. The 2014 population census put the population of Kabale at 49,667.

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