Masturah Kizito Nambijja, 36, has declared her intentions to contest for the East African Legislative Assembly on the National Resistance Movement flag.
The married mother of two, of the political trade name Mercy, says she has been a jack of all trades and a leader all her life. She originates in the family of Obedi Kizito of Mayirikiti village, Kazwana, Nakasongola district. Kizito was a famous NRA fighter and longtime sub-county chief.
PWDs’ CAUSE
Nambijja’s say the thrust of her candidature is to advance the cause and empowerment of people with disabilities (PWDs). She says PWDs still miss out on many opportunities in education, business, employment and leadership; so, she will push for more affirmative action, empowerment and inclusiveness for PWDs in all social spheres.
She complains about aggregative statistics that hide the plight of PWDs and says assistive devices for the blind, the deaf and the crippled and learning materials should be tax-free in the whole East African Community.
Nambijja is the current NRM flag bearer councilor for people with disabilities in Kampala. She, however, lost to an independent in the last elections, something she attributes to corrupt leaders who ganged up against her as she fought to protect a large piece of land in Kampala that President Museveni had given to PWDs.
She says some MPs and councilors stealthily sold this land to Zion Estates and thereafter decampaigned her vigorously for refusing to be compromised. The graduate of Library and Information Science from Makerere University businesswoman dealing in beautification of women founded Kampala Disabled Traders Cooperative and is its chairperson.
The cooperative gives small loans to PWDs, especially women. She is the information officer for Uganda Society for Disabled Children (USDC), based in Kamwokya, Kampala.
She has also set up a big fish farming project to benefit PWDs. This project astride the Nakaseke-Luweero border has constructed a man-made dam of four square miles and stocked it with fish but work is still going on to make the dam even larger.
Nambijja is also a volunteer with Operation Creation Wealth on the side of the disabled fraternity in Kampala. “I decided to volunteer under OWC so that my PWD colleagues may easily understand and utilize such useful government programs rather than be left out,” she explains.
Asked how she will juggle work at Arusha and her many projects in Uganda, she says: “I will not be a permanent resident at Arusha. Eala members don’t have to spend most of their time there. So, I will have enough time to keep leading, supervising and improving these projects. In fact, I will be empowered to start even more.”
Previously, Nambijja was secretary general for NRM branch at Makerere University, entertainment minister for Mary Stuart hall and Makerere University NRM flag bearer for disabled minister twice. She also served two terms on the People with Disabilities league of the NRM, on top of being Kampala Central division NRM flag bearer for PWDs.
APPEAL TO CEC
Nambijja calls upon the NRM Central Executive Committee that will be vetting NRM aspirants to consider the interests of disabled people’s representation in Eala.
She says in the outgoing Eala, only Rwanda has a legislator (Dr James Ndahiro) that has disability and that the legislator has been overworked being alone. She feels Eala should have about five people with disabilities to help uplift the situation of PWDs in the East African Community.
jmusinguzi@observer.ug