By Kevin Patrice
The elevation of Jinja to a City status this financial year meant among other things increased representation I the eleventh Parliament, with the original Jinja district jumping to seven MPs up from the original five.
That means that Jinja City will be represented by three directly elected representatives after the original Butembe Constituency was merged with Jinja West and East to come up with the new City.
Kagoma which is represented by Walyomu was partitioned into two, while Jinja District and tje City will have a Woman representative each which brings the number to 7.
The development will put the district at the top of the list of most represented districts in the subregion.
It also means that this will be the first time a district a district is represented by more than one MP for the Women under the affirmative action.
This brings us to the discussion of who will be the lucky woman to represent the new City I Parliament as it’s Woman representative?
As the Opposition NUP keeps it’s supporters in confusion over who they will be endorsing for the party flag between public favorite Manjeri Kyebakutiika and money bags Mariam Namuwanga, their counterparts from the ruling National Resistance Movement have at last announced their chosen pole bearer in Annet Musika after the contraversial September 4 primaries that were widely contested by some of the contenders.
The opposition Forum for Democratic Change conducted their primaries early last month, handing their flag to Ms Nabukwaasi Maganda for the 2021 race.
The Wednesday announcement by NRM’s Electoral Commission will allow the Kamwokya group to scratch their heads as they decide who between their two most probable candidates will be handed the flag to tassle it out with both NRM and FDC who have already declared their choices.
Even though Namuwanga has been variously ruled out of the contest over her name which sounds allien to the indigenous people of Jinja, her big financial muscle has already left many at Kamwokya scratching their heads.
The soft spoken prospecting parliamentarian has already won the hearts of the big men and women at Kamwokya following her expenditure on high-tech 3D banners that have painted Jinja City red in all corners.
With the unwavering support of the very powerful Waiswa Mufumbiro who seats on the NUP’s high command at Kamwokya,this will be surely a hard to call choice.
Kyebakutiika on the other hand won’t be easily discarded after the public has suggestively indicated she is the one they want.
Her humble background, accessibility, a permanent resident of Bugembe inthe outskirts of Jinja City where she was born and raised makes her a real gem for the voters.
committee Chief Mercy Walukamba expected to announce the NUP flag bearer soon
Unlike Namuwanga who has had it hard to appeal to the populace despite the sophisticated strategies employed, Kyebakutiika has had her people her way.
With simplicity and humility as the major tools in the soft spoken youthful politician’s political armoury, Kyebakutiika has already made a mark on the hearts of the Jinja electorates,which will certainly keep rivals from the other groups praying she doesn’t get endorsed by her party as it would jeopardize their plans for 2021.
It’s very clear that the divisive NRM primaries are likely to leave cracks in the party which will be hard to mend with less than a month left to the nominations.
With two of the main contenders in the precarious primaries protesting the outcome, there are glaring chances that whoever an organised opposition fronts for the seat will find an already fatigued and divided party which would make if possible to defeat them as longer as a formidable challenger is selected for the job.
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