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By Mulengera Reporters
There is growing consensus among stakeholders and community members in the areas they have been deployed in, that the following deputy RDCs have done exceptionally well and deserve not only retention but promotion.
These include Mike Segawa of Kasanda, Rose Atuhire of Ntungamo, Butambala’s Hassan Sembalirwa, Kawempe’s Kagenyi Luuka, Rubaga’s Moses Ariho, Buyende’s Naome Nakawala, Kiboga’s Newton Rwigyema, Gulu City’s James Cosmas Okidi, Nakawa’s Edrine Beneza and Mityana’s Prossy Mwanjuzi.
During their induction at Kyankwanzi-based National Leadership Institute (NALI), the Deputy RDCs were told about their basic mandate and things they need to prioritize. These briefly included political mobilization and popularizing government programs in their areas. This requires them to regularly feature on public media and fearlessly debate with those out to demonize the government. They have to be decent in their public appearances while persuading the public opinion without disreputing the name of the President who they represent in the areas of their respective geographical jurisdiction.
They are also required to ensure security besides moderating land wrangles in their respective areas. It’s a powerful position, which one can easily be tempted to leverage to engage in land grabbing, snatching of people’s spouses and general indulgence into corruption dealings.
As they do all these tasks, the Deputy RDCs ought to be humble and deliberate to avoid overshadowing their bosses (the full RDCs), who are also their immediate supervisors. Effective mediation of land wrangles, without taking sides or soliciting to be gratified, helps to put down the fires and create harmony among community members.
The RDCs are also supposed to amplify the fight against corruption and inefficiencies in service delivery by confronting high impact civil servants like health workers and teachers who engage in deliberate absenteeism or even those who extort money demanding to first be paid to render a service to which ordinary members of the public are entitled, without having to be required to part with anything.
In some cases, to achieve success against corruption, some of these Deputy RDCs have had to fearlessly confront and uproot deeply entrenched cartels such as those of brokers (mainly vocal NRM cadres) who bench at the RDC’s office and thrive on acting as go-betweens between an aggrieved member of the public and the boss (namely the RDC or deputy).
They will ask for ‘facilitation’ of as much as Shs5m-Shs20m to organize a meeting for you to meet the boss and woo him onto your side, in case of property wrangling, and it will all depend on the pecuniary value of the subject matter being disputed over.
Such extortionist cadres have a sense of entitlement and will engage in all manner of dirty deals and the District Police Commander (DPC) fears to move against them because they create the impression that they are powerful cadres with access to the superiors in Kampala (which could imply the Minister, IGP etc).
Besides gathering and processing intelligence on dangerous activities (say by the opposition elected leaders) in their respective areas, the Deputy RDCs head security committees and undertake operations aimed at ensuring that the schools, hospitals and even pharmacies which are operating without proper licensing, are identified and clamped down.
The expectation by the President is that such undertakings by the RDCs can make life better for the ordinary citizens and thereby help to increase and deepen popularity of the NRM government and the regime credibility too. And that’s why, for instance, the election victory of the ruling party candidates like Judith Nabakooba, Kamya Makumbi and Mohamed Kibedi Nsegumire in the case of Mwanjuzi’s Mityana, was in part attributed to the deliberate good work by the area Deputy RDC.
There are many instances where RDCs have been more public-spirited and end up being more visible and more felt by community members than is the case with the full RDC.
In the case of Mityana, Mwanjuzi’s public-spirited approach saw her chase away ‘brokers’ from the precincts of the RDC’s office and paid a price when she nearly lost her life.
Having failed to get her to side with their ‘client’ in a land wrangle, the well-connected political brokers got her personal lawyer killed and her vehicle torched to ashes. She too survived being assassinated narrowly that fateful night.
The much-publicized event even attracted the attention of the CDF and the President and the subsequent investigations revealed that these marauding political brokers had the backing of some of the senior Movement cadres in Mityana. The brokers had criminal charges preferred against them but two senior ruling NRM cadres from greater Mityana (including two males, former MPs) lobbied people at DPP’s office to have the charges dropped.
Mwanjuzi’s assertiveness against land grabbers and extortionist political brokers enchanted community members in Mityana and the same partly contributed to increased acceptability of NRM flag bearers during the 2026 elections.
The improved standing of the Movement among Mityana residents manifested in the ballot box when NRM took 3 out of the 5 MP slots in Mityana. NUP had only had Municipality MP Francis Zzaake and ‘easily [politically] manageable’ David Lukyamuzi Kalwanga of Busuju County go through. The rest of the MP seat winners were NRM-Kibedi, Nabakooba and Kamya Makumbi.
The LC5 chairman winner was Joseph Luzige of NRM, replacing a NUP person. On district councillors, NRM swept everything; garnering 47 seats against NUP’s mere 3. Out of the 17 LC3/Sub County Chairperson slots, NRM took 14, leaving NUP with only 3. It’s against this background that local leaders, opinion leaders and the general community members believe that Mwanjuzi needs to be empowered with an elevation to full RDC so that the above referenced accomplishments can be consolidated.
In Kawempe, NRM did very well during the 2026 elections and the network of local cadres are grateful that Kagenyi Luuka effectively leveraged his office to support mobilization activities which resulted into many NRM councillors beating NUP rivals and into Madina Nsereko becoming MP for Kawempe South which is home to NUP headquarters at Kavule.
In Kiboga, Deputy RDC Newton Rwigyema leveraged the security structure at his disposal to embolden mobilization by NRM cadres, which resulted into NUPians being defeated in many sub counties; resulting into the victory of President Museveni and that of other ruling party flag bearers. But most importantly, Rwigyema has greatly deescalated land wranglings in Kiboga and cases of the mighty depriving the voiceless poor of their land are no longer as rampant as it used to be.
Kasanda’s Mike Segawa, a former editor at Daily Monitor, was heavily involved in the political mobilization and preparations which culminated into the defeat of two NUP MPs (Woman MP Flavia Kalule Nabagabe & Kasanda South’s Frank Kabuye) whose positions have since been inherited by NRM Musevenists. He is also an effective communicator both by way of written online scripts and also verbal communications.
Segawa always leverages his oratory prowess to make opposition adherents to laugh at themselves whenever he speaks on radio or addresses a community gathering. And gratefully, he is one of those who are personally well appreciated by line Minister Milly Babalanda, who has just been reappointed.
Gulu Deputy RDC Cosmas James Okidi is another cadre that merits elevation. A holder of a Bachelor’s Degree in Public Administration, he has been at his station since 2022. A lover of the alternative dispute resolution approach, Okidi has successfully mediated and resolved hundreds of land disputes, which understandably are very rampant in post-war Gulu where land is communally owned in many places.
He has also been very active in amplifying government programs like PDM, Emyooga and UWEPI on radio. He has also been tough on those who misappropriate funds related to any wealth creation program of government.
He has also meticulously enforced presidential and ministerial directives relating to herdsmen, land mediations and wetland protection and restoration-and generally environmental justice.
He is also regular on radio stations to sensitize the public about public health initiatives such as accidents’ prevention, extortion among health workers and theft of medicines from public health facilities.
Butambala’s Hassan Sembalirwa is credited for playing a significant role; feeding into the overall political mobilization which resulted into NUP’s Deputy President Muwanga Kivumbi and Deputy Secretary General Aisha Kabanda being defeated by Eriasa Mukiibi Serunjogi and Daphine Lydia Mirembe who stood on the independent platform but are more aligned and more acceptable to Museveni’s NRM.
In the same vein, the NUP lost the LC5 chairmanship and majority district Councillorship positions. The NRM side, which the Deputy RDC closely worked with, also won 6 out of the 7 Sub County Chairperson slots. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
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