National Unity Platform (NUP) Principal Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) and other party top leaders were placed under panic after learning that Zahara Luyirika Maala the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) speaker was threatening to leak their dirty secrets if she was denied a party ticket to stand as a Member of Parliament in the coming parliamentary elections.
Highly placed sources at Makerere Kavule the NUP headquarters revealed to this website that Luyirika became furious upon learning that the decision was taken to give the Kampala district woman Member of Parliament card to incumbent Shamim Malende because she was leading her competitor both on the ground and at the headquarters.
Even though Bobi Wine and David Lewis Rubongoya the party Secretary General were overwhelmingly in support of Luyirika, they were very scared to give her the ticket when foot soldiers (grassroot mobilizers) under the command of Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu who is Bobi Wine’s elder brother were very sure that Luyirika is very weak and chances were high that if she was given the card, National Resistance Movement (NRM) was going to defeat them.
Sources added that Nyanzi was the one pressurizing Malende to protest and decline to take Rubogoya’s proposal of shifting her to Kawempe South where he was also competing noting that Rubongoya was targeting him because of their power struggles in the party.
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Hajjat Aisha Kabanda the deputy secretary general of the party and also the Butambala county legislator confirmed the difficulty the party leadership went through to solve Luyirika’s issue adding that it was the party’s top leadership which directed her to shift from Makindye West where she first showed her interest.
“The problem started when Malende got sick and was admitted to Nairobi hospital where she spent almost six months. We thought that because of the sickness, she was not going to contest again, and basing on that ground, we looked for an alternative and that’s when we landed on Luyirika,” Kabanda said
She added that they were shocked at the speed at which Malende recovered and changed the ground and she even declined to accept the offer of vying in another area.
On that ground, Luyirika was advised to apply for Makindye West where incumbent Allan Ssewanyana was competing with David Musiri, Faruk Ssebaggala and others
However, this website can authoritatively report that Luyirika was not vetted by the party’s Election Management Committee for the Makindye West slot as Kabanda claims but was vetted for the slot of Kampala district woman Member of Parliament.
The shift in her decision from Kampala to Makindye was made at the last hour after mending her relationship with Bobi Wine’s wife Barbar Itungo Kyagulanyi who was accusing her of having a private relationship with her husband
Sources said that even though Musiri is in good books with Bobi Wine, he took a decision to sacrifice him in favour of Luyirika because he was scared of exposing his dirty deals which she has been sealing for the party through using her office as KCCA councillor.
Sources claim that before Luyirika sealed the Nakivubo drainage channel deal with controversial city tycoon Hamis Kiggundu, she first consulted the party leadership and was given the green light to proceed and convince her council to pass the multibillion deal.
Sources added that Luyirika through her connections in Museveni’s government has saved the party from a number of financial crises and it was a difficulty move losing her in the coming national leadership race in favour of parson like Musiri who is struggling to build political connection.
However, sources inside NUP are very scared that the ground is not favourable for Luyirika and chances are high that if Musiri and Sseanyana decide to contest as independents, she might lose.
“The problem Luyirika has, people see her as a political dealer in the league of the likes of Mukasa Mbidde, Lubega Mukaku, Mike Mabikke so she needs to clean herself but she has no time to do so,” a source said.
