I got to know Mirembe through a friend who shared her Facebook post in which she declared her readiness to run for the presidency. To be sincere, I didn’t read much into it until I called her, to which she replied in affirmative. Here, I find her typing notes on her laptop, which she later tells me is her manifesto.
I later learn that she is readying herself for the presidential bid and has already handed over management of the law firm. “You think I’m joking?” she asks. “You will be stunned.”
Mirembe insists her ambition is not merely wishful thinking and that she is determined to become the next president of Uganda. Even before scrutinising the presidential bid, there is more about her.
“I’m a person with very strong convictions and I’m not familiar with impossibilities. Impossibility does not make sense to me,” she says.
“I’ve been through ups and downs and I’ve come out stronger. Even my law firm collapsed for some time and people wrote me off but I resurrected it and I’m now setting my eyes on the presidency because I believe I can win,” she says.
Mirembe speaks with so much zeal and authority I had to pause just to look at her. Seeing how posh everything around her is could be an indication of someone born with a silver spoon but she admits there wasn’t anything extraordinary in her upbringing.
“My family is the average Ugandan family that took me to good but not the top schools. What I grew up with is a wealth of love,” she says.
I wondered whether she even comprehends what it takes to bid for the presidency.
“People who start law firms at a young age aim for small spaces in the city but I never believed in small things. I believe that if the mighty can achieve, why not me? They also have blood and I don’t want to look at my limitations or history because I believe in the uniqueness of everyone’s thumbprint. So, I believe in big things and this is one big one,” she says.
“It scares me a bit but I don’t focus on my limitations. To me, even running for president is not just about trying but I believe I can win. I’ve heard people tag me [Maureen] Kyalya [the former presidential candidate] but I just laugh them off. I actually want to be president of Uganda and I’m going to fight till I get to State House.”
For someone who has little to show for, Mirembe insists she is not making a public prank. “I’ve never contested for any leadership position in life but as a lawyer, when you give empty threats then it works against you. My reputation is at stake. So, I’m not joking and I don’t know what proof I need to provide for people to take me serious.
I guess you celebrated the recent court judgment that removed age limits…
I was actually very embarrassed that we reached those proportions. That is a bogus law and much as I wouldn’t have expressed my presidential ambitions if the age-limit was still 35 years, it would be one of the first things I do when I become president.
We need the age limit because a 19-year-old cannot become president. Perhaps my standing for the presidency will also embarrass them.
I was also curious to know what makes Mirembe keen on becoming president, something that seems beyond her ability, for now.
I have the conviction that I will lead this country. I will lead it better and I believe as a young person, we see the world differently. Uganda has a problem we all know. The behemoth of corruption is there for everyone to see. The country is rotten and the problem is that our leaders keep showing us rosy figures.
But the people competent to lead this country are doing nothing. No one is selfless enough to stand up and say enough is enough even if it means losing my job, my business, my connections or life.
Even the lawyers know people need kitu kidogo at the land registry and we gladly oblige forgetting when you pay this money further bleeds the country. When will all this end? For me I’m tired. I’m not going to go with the status quo any more.
People say that why didn’t you at least start by becoming Uganda Law Society president? Well, I started this law firm from nothing but in two years it was one of the fastest-growing but ULS has its challenges and because of the current political influence in Uganda, you cannot achieve much. That’s why I want to change Uganda from the top because structures are broken.
I wondered at what point she thought of changing things from the top…
Last year, I was representing a Soroti community of about 2,000 who were about to be paid billions for a rock a company wanted to buy. I was trusted to go through this process but just when everything was almost finalised, a senior lawyer and highly-placed person in government intimidated people to sell the land to him at just over Shs 300m so that he could take the documents of ownership and get paid the billions.
Even the area leadership was going along with this gentleman. I was hurt, not because I missed out on the deal, but because the community lost out. I wondered that if someone could do this, who can put this right? If people cannot stand up for their rights, then a 31-year old can sacrifice herself.
Could Mirembe be ready for the extremes of vying for the top seat…
I don’t dwell on my limitations. I’m ready for anything even if it means prison, going hungry or even die for my country. I don’t have children and it doesn’t help to have children in this Uganda today when they cannot have a better Uganda. Someone has to be selfless enough to give up their good life to change the country.
I wonder what her friends and family think
Everyone I tell first opens eyes and says; Phiona are you serious? I tell them I’m serious. My parents were shocked but it is sinking in for them. I have so many friends even in the top leadership who support me but may not come out openly to declare so.
Of course I know many think I’m joking but some are starting to believe. I have also learnt never to take anything for granted because I have a long history of failures. I failed Law Development Centre (LDC) pre-entry at my first attempt and I couldn’t believe it. I don’t believe success is an indicator for someone’s capability, it is the failures you learn from.
I wonder how she is warming up for life in politics…
I read a lot, especially at night and I’ve consulted several leading researchers. I will earn along the way during campaigns.
I wonder if there is anything special she will tell the masses
People in power tell us the obvious and are so focused on retaining power and those in opposition bend on getting the president out of power. They talk little about poverty, corruption but offer few alternatives. We’ve had many commissions of inquiry but nothing is done. They preach but not walk the talk.
My focus is majorly on two things that will change Uganda: industrialisation and structural adjustment. When you implement the two, there is cohesiveness and the citizens as a whole benefit. Prosperity would spill over the country and not limited to the few individuals with an allegiance to the leadership.
We are flooded with Chinese stuff yet we have the capacity to do them here. I know most of these things are tied are a result of conditions set by global powers. For instance, most of our opposition politicians cannot talk about sensitive things like GMOs and LGBT community
I even had an offer to get funds under the condition I promote a certain campaign. What some funders are doing is to dangle a carrot. But I will not go with the flow. Just watch the space.
nicholasbamulanzeki@gmail.com
