There was drama at the Sheema District Council Hall on Tuesday March, 3, 2020 when the District Woman Representative Sheema District, Hon. Jacklet Atuhaire Rwabukurukuru called for a consultative meeting with Local Government leadership from LC III, District Technical Team led by the Chief Adminstrative Officer (CAO) and District Resident District Commissioner (RDC).
This website has learned that Hon. Jacklet together with Sheema District Women Council had convened the meeting to draft a way forward with the district council and technical leadership on how to prepare for an outstanding capacity building workshop that would be attuned to arming the District political and technical leaders with Gender, Mainstreaming information that has been lacking in the lowermost levels of local government, not only that, but to unveil the new strategy by the government for increasing the household income through the women council village model of 15 households per village, in the this massive two-day workshop that will see all women leaders trained in a capacity building workshop during which the expected Chief Guest on the closing day is His Excellency Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, the president of Uganda.
This, according to the District Women Council who were massively represented at the meeting by all sub-county leadership teams, would help the LC 1 and 2 levels of leadership to draw approaches that would help reduce on the inadequacies that have been identified especially during the parish to parish meetings of the Woman MP working hand in hand with the women council.
Sheema District Woman Legislator Jacklet Addressing District leaders and women representatives
However, Shocking news struck the hall when the District Chairman Sheema, former Canon David Kabigumira said, they had nothing to discuss about because he had already got massive financial support from the Sheema North MP, Hon. Kibaju Naome to singlehandedly host his District’s Women’s Day event, (to be held) in Nyabwina Parish, Masheruka Sub County.
After learning about that, councilors were not pleased on how the Chairman and Sheema North County MP, Hon. Kibaju; would go in secrecy to deny almost 100% of Sheema District Political leadership a chance to contribute to the national agenda through informed decision, making after attaining the educational material that the workshop would bring to the fore.
Further, the Speaker was disappointed by the chairperson’s decision and asked why Mr. Kabigumira and Kibaju would promote disunity at the expense of fundamental human resource development in the leadership of the District.
Women representatives and district leaders shocked by the district chairman’s speech
This prompted the entire District leadership to question the modalities under which their Chairman is taking on the roles of the District Women Council with total disregard to the Woman MP and the entire District Women Council.
Devastated district councilors primarily offered their apologies to the legislator for the Chairman’s selfish approach to the District Women Council and wholesomely supported the idea of holding a capacity building workshop that would be beneficial to their entire District leadership.
One of the disappointed councilors said “this act is exposing a high-level of incompetence that can be blamed for the gaps in institutional monitoring at the District since the Chairman has failed to become conversant with his own roles and limits,” he said.
In response, Chairman Kabigumira stated that the world is already annoyed with women getting 1.5 points at the expense of the men hence the need act now; he stated that “we are tired of women empowerment which is not helping in our society, it’s always with women this women that, as if the whole world revolves around them.”
Kabigumira arrogantly added that together with the CAO and RDC, they will hold the day whether the District Council and Women Council like it, or not.
However, Unlike the Chairman LC V, the RDC expressed the fact that the Women Council’s capacity building workshop was the best thing that would happen to the District, and expressed his fears that the council will fail to sit because the councilors had been denied the opportunity to have capacity to understand what it means to monitor government programs.
The RDC applauded the woman MP who is doing all that she can to make sure that sanity is restored in Sheema, where people have been divided alongside religious divide, and has introduced programs that are for all regardless of political and religious affiliations.
According to councilors, the District has no money to host such events. “This was observed in the past events when the District Women Council faced serious financial crisis. The recent 2019 women’s day, costed over 50 Million shillings of which the District contributed only 1 Million and the rest was contributed by the District woman MP,” Councilors explained.
The District Councillor, Shuuku Town Council proposed that there is need for a resolution to be passed in order for the District Women Council to hold the workshop to focus on capacity building.
This was supported by the Female Youth Councillor, Ayesiga Patience who asked the Chairman to stay in his lane and leave the Woman MP and Council to handle the issues of the women.
It was indeed resolved with the motion moved by the Chairperson Women Council, Kakindo Town Council Mrs. Enid Asiimwe that women should be respected by the District Chairman and the CAO.
She further added that the duo must work to respond formally to their requests in order to cause for a formal sitting of the District Women Council Executive along with the District Council, this was due to the outcry that women had sat on various occasions passing resolutions that are not respected by the district leadership.
They expressed their dismay to their woman representative to look into their issues and reminded her that women issues should be taken seriously.
Women Council in Sheema was working around the National Women’s Council Strategic plan to ensure that women have been elevated in the levels of exposure to information. The capacity building for leaders in the District from Village level to the District in 2020 is said to have been organized as a follow up to the past events in which a selected few have been beneficiaries.
The Woman Member of Parliament informed the people in attendance that the District women leadership has intentions to organize a workshop that would address issues of economic empowerment, health, nutrition, domestic violence and sanitation as presented by various experts that have been mobilised under the International Women’s Day Theme – “An equal world is an enabled world”. She calmed down the women and assured them that as long as she still represents them, she will make sure that such undertones, and people who are out there to undo what the NRM government fought to bring in would not go unchecked.
