Muhammad Ssegirinya aka Mr. Updates is a Ugandan politician and activist who is currently the Member of Parliament for Kawempe North Constituency. He has served as a KCCA Councilor before becoming an MP in 11th Parliament.
Ssegirinya Muhammad was born in 1988 in Butale Kaddugala in Masaka District Uganda. Born a practicing Catholic Family, Ssegirinya Muhammad converted from the Catholic Church to the Islam faith changing his given name from Richard to Muhammad.
Ssegirinya insists that he is engaged and that he will reveal his wife to the public when the time is due.
Age: 33 years.
Education Background
Ssegirinya Muhammad’s education background has drawn a lot of criticism from his political opponents with many claiming he is not having the right education qualifications to be a Member of Parliament.
Ssegirinya attended Kaddugala Primary School for his PLE Pass slip before going to Kaddugala Secondary School where he studied up to S.3.
He later left Masaka for Kampala securing a slot at Pimbas Secondary School which is located in Kawempe Division, Kampala District for his O and A Level. In 2021, the Headmaster of Pimbas Secondary School acknowledged that Ssegirinya attended the school at Pimbas though he did not confirm whether he sat his UACE from there.
Ssegirinya Muhammad studied diploma in Journalism from Datamine Technical Business School which is located at Plot 291, Block 9, Bat valley Crescent off Bombo Road, Next to Hotel Bhatva, Bombo Rd, Kampala.
Career of Ssegirinya Muhammad.
Ssegirinya Muhammad has done many odd jobs for a living. From his sugar cane business at home in Masaka where he used to get school fees from before it crumbled to working in Marizi Restaurant located at Luwum Street where he worked as cleaner to support his education at Primas and also
Activism and Political Career of Ssegirinya Muhammad.
Ssegirinya is a self made politicians who had no connections, no finance, no back up and not even popular but he has managed to dig his own path to establish himself as one of the most successful politicians.
Starting as a radio caller giving his views on Radio Stations’ political shows, failing to win the Kawempe North Constituency seat twice, Ssegirinya has managed to become a KCCA Councilor and a Member of Parliament in Uganda’s top legislative body.
He started his career as a radio caller in 2006 when he had joined Primas Secondary School while in Senior Three. He would call on political shows giving his views and decampaigning the NRM government as he always identified himself as ‘Edoboozi Lya Kyebando’ (Voice of Kyebando).
In 2011, youthful Ssegirinya Muhammad contested for Kawempe North Constituency representing the Social Democratic Party and he lost to the then incumbent Latif Ssebagala coming as number two.
After 2011 failed election bid, Ssegirinya Muhammad started getting closer to Kizza Besigye who was the de facto leader of the Forum for Democratic Change and Mr. Erias Lukwago who was the newly elected Mayor of the newly established Kampala Capital City Authority.
He said that he joined the two prominent politicians because they represented what he believed in.
“They were leading the cause that I have always believed in,” he explains his association with Dr Besigye and Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago. “Though we have now gone separate ways, it wasn’t in bad spirit.”
His alliance with Besigye and Lukwago proved successful since the politics of Kampala Metropolitan always rotated around the two political figures. By 2013, Ssegirinya had turned into an activist participating in various protests organized by the opposition.
In 2015, Ssegirinya Muhammad led the protest against digitalization of TVs an initiative carried out by Uganda Communications Commission to twirl the country’s TV network from analogue to digital. Ssegirinya was noted saying that is unfair to ask Ugandans to pay monthly to watch a TV.
In 2016, having joined FDC, Ssegirinya contested in FDC Primaries for Kawempe North Constituency but lost to Asadullah Semmindi. He then came as independent but on a lower seat of KCCA Councilor representing Kawempe North in KCCA Hall and he emerged a winner earning him the first political seat.
In 2017, after Kyadondo County East elections were contested in court and Hon. Apollo Kantinti’s win nullified, Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu popularly known as Bobi Wine also contested in the by elections. FDC supported FDC candidate Apollo Kantinti while Ssegirinya supported Bobi Wine. Bobi Wine emerged a winner would later start a pressure group identified as People Power Movement.
Ssegirinya wasn’t left unturned with this new movement of People Power. An attendant of every activity that Besigye graced, Ssegirinya quickly switched allegiance to the People Power Movement and color red became his official dress code.
“From Kyadondo [East] I remained with honourable Kyagulanyi and we formed People Power and now have a party, NUP. So this is where I belong, but I have no problem with the Lord Mayor or Dr Besigye. But I departed from them in Kyadondo East.” Ssegirinya said.
In 2020 towards 2021 elections, Ssegirinya Muhammad presented himself for Member of Parliament seat Kawempe North Constituency on National Unity Platform ticket. He managed to surpass former Deputy Lord Mayor Sulaiman Kidandala, Incumbent MP Latif Ssebagala who had given a pinch at the Lord Mayoral seat others to get ticket of NUP.
Ssegirinya would later win with a landslide victory in January 14th 2021 elections becoming the Member of Parliament elect Kawempe North Constituency a position he officially occupied in May 2021 after a swearing in ceremony.
Philanthropy Work
Ssegirinya Muhammad is a philanthropist who has helped hundreds of people not only in his constituency but throughout the country.
Throughout his term at KCCA as a councilor, Ssegirinya devoted 500,000 of his 3,000,000 shs gross salary (16.7%) of his salary to help his constituents.
He has always been seen helping evicted tenants, giving food to vulnerable families and paying medical bills for those stuck in hospitals.
He has also led various fundraising campaigns to help buy food for vulnerable families during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
He is currently establishing a hospital in Kawempe North Constituency that will provide improved medical care to patients at subsidized prices.
Investments and Net Worth.
For all five years that Ssegirinya will spend as a Member of Parliament Kawempe North, he will be earning UGX 312,000,000 as a gross pay per annum.
Ssegirinya is also currently constructing a Kawempe North Hospital a hospital that will provide cheap health care to his electorates.
He also announced that he is set to introduce Kawempe Bus Service, a transportation company that will won buses which will take commuters of Kawempe to the city centre at reduced prices. Buses were expected to land in the country as of September 2021.
Controversy.
Ssegirinya Muhammad has been identified as a populist politician.
In 2021 May, his election win was contested in the courts of law by his political rival Sulaiman Kidandala on education grounds. The case is still in court though Ssegirinya managed to win round one of the ruling.
In September 2021, Ssegirinya Muhammad was summoned to police alongside felloe legislator Hon. Allan Ssewanyana on allegations of sponsoring terrorist activities in Masaka Sub Region (Bijambiya Assailants). Ssegirinya denied the allegations but was charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder, remanded to Kitalya Prison until September 15th 2021.
Most of his supporters and even critics labeled the charges as part of the ongoing prosecution against opposition figures.