MASAKA – Mr. Richard Sebamala, 40, a civil engineer-turned-politician, has officially announced he would take on veteran Member of Parliament Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi, 77, who is also the Vice President in the 2021 national elections for Bukoto Central Constituency seat.
Sebamala hinted he would throw his hat into the ring and take on VP Ssekandi, who has served as a Member of Parliament for Bukoto County Central constituency since 1996, leaving the constituency’s youthful population hungry for change.
“I’ve loved my people since childhood and of course giving back to those who cannot stand on their own is part of me. So, when I looked into my network in politics of which many are my friends, I had to give in my all and this is the right time for me to change the face of my constituency,” said Sebamala who is the proprietor of Sebamala Foundation, a local charity organization that empowers locals through sports, education and health.
According to reports, Sebamala already has a backup of opposition popular figures including Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu and Democratic Party President General Norbert Mao and he says that he is determined to see the exit of Mr. Ssekandi who looks set to seek a sixth term.
In 2011, it was alleged that Ssekandi, the then Speaker of Parliament and the EC massively rigged to retain the Bukoto Central parliamentary seat.
Sebamala who hails from Bisanja, a village within the Bukoto constituency said his aim ahead of the election is “to multiply myself in various young men and women, so that there are as many Sebamala as possible.”
Mr. Ssekandi is reportedly terrified of Sebamala.
Born to Cyrus Ndawula and Betty Nanyonga both residents of Gulama village, Buwunga Sub County in Masaka District, Engineer Sebamala has ironically given Mr. Ssekandi a bumpy ride in a constituency which he has dominated since 1996.
The 40-year-old engineer first came to prominence at the start of the year when he started supporting youths, women and the needy children in Bukoto Central Constituency.
He told reporters that growing up as a kid, he had no political ambitions and he lived a normal childhood in Bisanje before joining Bukalasa Seminary in 1993, where he took up leadership positions.
“I grew up in a family where my father was not that rich but he taught us how to work hard and of course considering God first in all the things we do,” he says.
He studied at St Modesta Bisanje Secondary School, Blessed Sacrament Kimanya and St Bernard’s Nkoni before switching to Buganda Road Primary School and Kanebukuliro where he finished his primary level.
Sebamala who is also a seminarian from Bukalasa Seminary finished his A ‘level at Namilyango College and Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering at Kyambogo University and graduated in 2005.
He also did further studies at Dana College, Nebraska in the United States of America.