Kawempe North Member of Parliament Muhammad Ssegirinya is dead, The insider reports.
Ssegirinya was pronounced dead this morning after years of sickness.
This is a developing story, with more details to come as they unfold
The Story of Muhammad Ssegirinya
Muhammad Ssegirinya, a member of Uganda’s 11th Parliament, represented the Kawempe North constituency in Kampala city.
He was elected under the ticket of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Uganda’s leading opposition party.
Born in 1988 in Butale, Kadugala, Masaka District, Ssegirinya grew up in a humble Catholic family as the eldest of five siblings. During a feature on NTV’s Tuwaye show, he described his childhood as one plagued by poverty.
To support the family, he sold sugarcane harvested from his father’s meager farm.
Originally named Richard Ssegirinya, he converted to Islam and adopted the name Muhammad. Speaking on the local TV program Omuntu Wabantu, he shared details of his education, stating he attended Kadugala Primary School, where he scored 13 aggregates in his Primary Leaving Examinations.
He later enrolled at Kadugala Secondary School and Pimba Secondary School in Kyebando for his secondary education.
Ssegirinya’s official documents indicated that he held a certificate in Urban Food Experience from the Netherlands.
According to The Observer, this qualification was equivalent to Uganda’s Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE), the minimum academic requirement for parliamentary candidates.
The publication highlighted him as one of the least formally educated Members of Parliament.
Ssegirinya gained public attention through his frequent contributions to Kampala-based radio talk shows, where he dubbed himself Ssegirinya Eddoboozi Lye Kyebando (The Voice of Kyebando).
His vibrant social media presence under the alias Mr. Update further cemented his popularity.
Political Career
In 2011, Ssegirinya first contested the Kawempe North parliamentary seat but lost. In 2016, he vied for the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party ticket in the same constituency but was again unsuccessful.
He shifted focus to local government and won a seat as Lord Councillor for Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), representing Kawempe North.
In the 2021 general elections, Ssegirinya ran for the Kawempe North parliamentary seat under the NUP banner and emerged victorious, defeating nine other candidates, including incumbent Abdulatif Ssebagala Ssengendo and former Deputy Lord Mayor Sulaiman Kidandala.
His victory was contested in court but upheld after the case was dismissed.
Legal Troubles
On September 3, 2021, the Uganda Police Force summoned Ssegirinya for questioning over alleged involvement in rebel activities in the Greater Masaka region.
Days later, he was charged with three counts of murder and one of attempted murder and remanded to Kitalya Maximum Security Prison.
No credible evidence was ever presented to substantiate the charges, leading many to believe his arrest was politically motivated, targeting him and fellow opposition MP Allan Ssewanyana for their popularity.
This mirrored the arrests of two other prominent MPs in 2005, who were later acquitted of similar charges.
After spending over a year in prison, Ssegirinya was granted bail on February 13, 2023. However, his imprisonment left him with severe injuries from alleged torture.
He sought medical treatment in Nairobi, Kampala, and eventually at the Amsterdam Medical Center in the Netherlands in August 2023.
Current Status
Due to his health struggles, Ssegirinya rarely attended parliamentary sessions following his release.
In August 2024, he announced his intention to run again for the Kawempe North parliamentary seat in the 2026 elections.
Despite his demise, Muhammad Ssegirinya was a significant figure in Uganda’s political landscape, embodying resilience and the enduring spirit of opposition activism.
