“I decided to switch off electricity because I am the one who bought the transformer and the electricity poles which are also passing in my land and road.
Yusuf Nsibambi, the former Mawokota South MP, has disconnected villages in his constituency from the national power grid after losing the election. Nsibambi claims he invested in bringing electricity to the area, but was rejected by voters who “listened to lies” against him.
A Forum for Democratic Change’s (FDC) flag bearer, Nsibambi laments that despite the projects he has invested into for his constituents including among other things, connecting the area to the national power grid which was one of their biggest outcries then, the locals decided to listen to the lies spread against him and voted him out of parliament.
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“I bought a transformer and also electricity poles, helping a number of people to get connected to free electricity,” Nsibambi said during a social media interview hosted by Flavia Namulindwa on a Diaspora Connect YouTube Channel.
He added that he had brought the electricity for his own businesses, but different people took it as an opportunity to tap his power without as much as seeking his approval, just as a courtesy.
He said: “there is a lawyer, Denis Bugaya who works with Buganda Land Board (BLB) who is my son because I taught him. Before going for the campaigns this time, I engaged him asking for his support, and he promised to support me but that because he is an employee of Buganda Kingdom, he would not come out openly, that they are barred from taking part in elective politics openly; that was ok for me.”
Unfortunately, Nsibambi said, Bugaya fielded a candidate, John Bosco Lubyayi to stand against him and he fully funded his campaigns right from printing posters and other requirements.
He noted that it is ironical that because Bugaya is among the hundreds of people who have been benefiting from the power he extended to the village,” he said adding, “as if that was not bad enough, Bugaya hired a plane for Lubyayi as he campaigned while luring youths, telling them that he was a better Candidate and that I had done nothing beneficial for the constituency”.
Nsibambi complained that despite his earlier declaration that he is barred from publicly showing support to a political candidate, he called for a rally where he (Bugaya) said that he was not ready to reveal his candidate for president, but that for the MP, he would vote for an independent candidate, John Bosco Lubyayi, saying I had left no legacy.
He was amazed by Bugaya’s negative statements although his poultry farm of over 60,000 birds is running on the power provided by Nsibambi himself.
As if to add insult to injury, irate Nsibambi said that Bugaya went ahead to hire two drones (commuter mini buses) on election day, which ferried people to the polling centers and also paid them money ranging between sh10,000-30,000, urging them not to vote for him.
“I decided to switch off electricity because I am the one who bought the transformer and the electricity poles which are also passing in my land and road.
But Bugaya got in touch with Buwama Police OC and UEDCL officials and reconnected the village. He went ahead to call for a meeting and told the locals that I was nothing and vowed to call Energy Minister Nankabirwa to prevail over the matter.”
“I wondered how Nankabirwa could intervene in a matter where I bought my own electricity poles and a transformer; I decided to take away my transformer and the entire village went into darkness. He again wanted to bring police and UEDCL to reconnect them, I therefore had to cut down the electricity poles, let them tell me who authorized their connections,” he affirmed.
