Entertainment Africa
Renowned musician Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu today begins his mandate as a legislator after taking oath as a member of parliament for Kyadondo East constituency.
Kyagulanyi undertook to offer faithful service to parliament and to defend and uphold the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda. His oath was administered by the clerk to parliament Jane Kibirige during the plenary session presided over by the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga this afternoon.
Kadaga welcomed Kyagulanyi in the house, and handed to him the constitution of Uganda and rules of procedure of parliament as is the norm for each legislator after taking oath.
“Hon Kyagulanyi I congratulate you and welcome you to the 10th parliament”, she said.
The 35-year-old artiste won the election held on June 29 where he contested as an independent candidate and chose to carry his message as a grassroots voice championing issues of the common man.
He polled 25,659 votes, beating his challengers Sitenda Sebalu and Apollo Kantinti with a margin of more than 20,000 votes. The seat fell vacant after court nullified Apollo Kantinti’s 2016 election citing irregularities in the process.
Earlier, Kyagulanyi told journalists at parliament that his presence in parliament will focus more on fixing a country that is rotten with hopelessness and restore the hope of Ugandans in democratic processes.
“We’re making policies that are going to run the entire country, so whoever steps in this parliament, becomes a national leader. It is upon them to have a national belief and a national conviction… The future is now. There is no other future especially for you and me. Look, Uganda has the youngest population, so we’re not going to think about tomorrow, we’re gonna think about now. And whatever we’re going to do, we must do it now if it is to reflect in the so-called future”, he said.
Kyagulanyi’s wife, Barbara Itungo now known as Mama Kyadondo says she expects effective representation in Robert Kyagulanyi, driving on issues that affect the common man. She says she expects Kyagulanyi to give a full accountability of his representation, adding that the support he received from Kyadondo East was overwhelming.
“My member of parliament should be seen, he should talk for us and if we send him, we expect to hear what we sent him say. And we expect him to come back to us and tell us what he learnt from there and what he has to say to us. We expect him to teach us what he learns from there so we can go along with everybody else. We expect to see our MP work”, she said.
There was similar overwhelming excitement today that engulfed his supporters just like it was when he won the by-election last month. Supporters lined the roads from his home area in Magere through Kisasi town to Kamwokya and city streets chanting his name and slogans.
Robert Kyagulanyi swear in: One woman took the excitement too far. She cried, screamed, laughed, did pushups, ran etc via @bamulanzeki pic.twitter.com/YkEVTuvEQr
— The Observer (@observerug) July 11, 2017
The furore did not spare parliamentary staff either who ran out of their offices to record the moments on their smartphones. Even inside the House, as he made his way to the Speaker’s table, MPs were literally fighting to shake the ‘ghetto president’s’ hand.
“The ghetto has finally stepped in parliament” says Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi #Uganda pic.twitter.com/sAYF9Npxq7
— The Observer (@observerug) July 11, 2017
He later said, the ghetto has come to parliament since parliament had failed to get to the ghetto. Kyagulanyi said he comes into parliament at a time when government is lining up constitutional amendments including lifting the presidential age limit. He said he swore to defend the Constitution and that is what is going to be his major goal.
