Comparing Ssekandi and Kadaga

True Colors — 23 August 2011

By Robert Atuhairwe

A former two-term Member of Parliament once told me that Uganda will never get a Speaker like the late James Wapakhabulo. In saying so, the former MP didn’t substantiate but just shook his head several times, signifying that to him, the late Hon. Wapakhabulo’s performance as Speaker was awesome.

Wapakhabulo was Speaker of the Constituent Assembly (CA) and the 6th Parliament before being appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. He died in 2004 of natural causes.

At the time he was Speaker, Parliament didn’t have the system to relay proceedings of the House live as it is today. No doubt, that is why many Ugandans missed seeing him live in action. We can say he was a mix of the good traits in all Speakers Uganda has ever had, till dissenters surface.

The live telecast of Parliamentary proceedings started a few years ago under Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi who is now Vice President. It enabled Ugandans to see their MPs at their most crucial point of service, debating on the floor of the plenary of Parliament. In a bid to enhance accountability and transparency, the arrangement has no doubt caused political misery for “dumb” legislators and earning the vocal ones easy acclaim. Ssekandi also ended up the most scrutinized Speaker Uganda has ever employed. His “wise” and “unwise” rulings have been watched by anyone with a TV set.

But what kind of person was Ssekandi as a Speaker? In simple terms, he was ridiculed by the opposition but celebrated by the ruling NRM.

The first impression one would get on seeing Ssekandi is one of a father figure with a dignified pose. He creates an air of a boss being
around just by being there. He is laconic and speaks softly. His softness is so perceptible that, in a world where noise makers tend to
force their way, he must only be respected or “feared” simply because he is intelligent and only talks when “there is something to say.”

He is also a man who likes spending time alone, which is a key characteristic of deeply thoughtful people. They prefer to keep their minds cool for more serious engagements. Many times especially on weekends and public holidays, Ssekandi could be spotted driving himself in one of the Parliamentary Station Wagons or his private Lexus. Alone-without even a single escort, no chauffeur, no siren blaring and cruising at a cool speed. Now that he is VP and entitled to a longer convoy, he must feel overcrowded and misplaced.

This was always in stack contrast to his deputy and now full Speaker, Hon. Rebecca Kadaga, who always moves with an escort pick-up of more than 8 policemen, sirens blazing and cruising at V.I.P speed.

On the floor of the House, Ssekandi is reputed to have been parental in handling Members. That he always acted as a guide rather than
dictating procedure. The “parental” description has been testified to by a former Minister and now MP.

It’s said with Ssekandi, MPs always feel free in the House. I have also noticed that Ssekandi would never rule an MP “out of order”,
a Parliamentary language meaning that the particular legislator’s statement on the floor of the August House is unacceptable or
improperly packaged. Instead, Ssekandi would find a way of pointing out that the offending MP knows his mistake but without ruling them out of order.

On the other hand, Kadaga would easily rule out a member as out of order. The practice is partly responsible for the immense respect she commands among MPs. She is considered a no nonsense lady who will curtail member’s indiscipline and loose talk that is not backed by fact and thought. And when she does this, Kadaga doesn’t care whether you belong to her political party. To her, carelessness is wrong whether it’s yellow or blue.

Since most MPs are NRM, whenever Ssekandi hesitated to issue the “out of order” ruling, it spared the ruling side humiliation many times, thus making him look biased.

It was also rare for Ssekandi to hold a sitting of the House beyond 5:00pm. Sittings would start at 2:30pm and by 5:00pm, business closes. If the House held morning sittings, MPs would be allowed to break off at lunch time and then resume at 2:30pm. MPs liked this arrangement for it gave them time to relax. Good as it may seem, it’s responsible for the unfinished business including Bills that the 8th Parliament couldn’t put to bed.

Kadaga on the other hand is reputed for making MPs sit all the way past 7:00pm on many occasions. She would manage to sit without budging in her chair from either 10:00am, in case of morning sittings, and 2:30pm all the way to beyond 7:00pm. During this time, lazy MPs would be moving in and out of the chambers, unable to match her stamina. No doubt, if she continues with that drive, the 9th Parliament will not have lagging duties as one of its bad points.

It should be noted that the Speaker’s job is not a thing for mediocres. Superintending over the largest group of V.I.Ps in a country cannot be done by anybody. One must have personal clout, connections, a thick skin, intelligence, foresight, hindsight, common
sense, and control, all rolled in one. To get to the post, one goes through a series of elections, at one time being voted on by MPs. Even
the President doesn’t meet such a hurdle.

The Speaker is also the only top employee of Uganda who, is watched live while on duty. Any slip, gaffe, act of provocation, or
off day blues are all in the full glare of the cameras and seen by the public. Other top servants of the country like the President, Chief
Justice, Vice Presidents and so on, work in secret at the height of their duty call. Being broadcast on duty 3 days a week for five years
must be a very tough job indeed!

There is pressure from above, the side, and below. It’s even worse that Ugandan Speakers are politicians and not technocrats. When the
country goes haywire in one way or the other, a Speaker may lose at many fronts including legacy and constituency because of decisions made by the entire quorum of the House. The blame will be on them.

Ssekandi’s name is in tatters due to perceived failures of the 7th and 8th Parliaments. So much so that on two consecutive occasions he has failed to win a clean election in Bukoto Central. His soft nature has been interpreted as willing to be dominated by the powers-that-be.

Kadaga is a contrast and a lady of unbelievable strength, action and doesn’t take things lying down. Her firm approach will either take her higher up the ladder or bring her crashing down. She is a lioness for women’s issues and is indomitable by any man. Her love for Busoga is supreme but her enemies are lurking where her passion is.

Already, she is being taunted by fellow Basoga, instead of taking pride in her. She now risks drawing enemies from other corners of the
country if the MPs find her too difficult in her monitoring role. She might step on a few more toes and before we know it, she will be
accused of being insensitive and too ambitious, a trait which will soon bring down hoards of Ugandan politicians.

Kadaga’s chances of making the 9th Parliament a pilot project for a better legislative system in Uganda are high. An efficient, sensitive,
independent, relevant and fast Parliament! She has all the time in this world to do so. If that fails, she will pass off as somebody with command but without control unlike Ssekandi who didn’t have command, but had control without using coercion. But, let’s give the Lady from Kamuli time to prove herself.

The author is a journalist and Director for Political Monitoring at
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