How Kankunda changed President’s Office in Entebbe

The mid-morning of March 23^rd 2022 came as a surprise to many of the dwellers within the Peninsular of Entebbe. No person had died, neither was it a riot or protest to warrant an uproar.

It was just a change of guard. By appointment, the RDC, justify the fact that s/he is a presidential appointment, by protocol is the most senior leader within a given jurisdiction.

On this fateful day, President Museveni had relieved Hajji Noor Njuki Mbabaali of his duties as Deputy RDC Entebbe and rehired him as the Deputy Resident District Commissioner for a Distant Masindi, a district in the Bunyoro sub region.

Njuki’s face had been marred with excessive dealing and disrespect of all the political divide. For he had rejected court orders and move on with several disagreements with senior security officers within the Entebbe Jurisdiction.

“He would also connive with land grabbers to evict people from land and leave many homeless,” says one of his former assistants.

For such a character left the President’s office within Entebbe tainted with a dying reputation, one of such a character bristling with pride and vanity, for which could not add value to the citizenry but rather benefit an individual.

Njuki was replaced by Ms Jacqueline Kankunda as Entebbe Deputy RDC. For a woman who seemed young and new to the office found an uphill task to restore respect and dignity for which the office had lost.

For; an RDC is a public officer expected to uphold professionalism so as to enhance the image of his/her profession. For when leaders are elected, appointed, they become problem solvers for everyone, including some of their fiercest critics. 

With great rhetoric and politics to thrive, tone is always a substantive a tool used in moral suasion. It helps in persuading a party and leading especially in such a situation like that had happened to Entebbe in the previous years under a former District Speaker.

Kankunda arrived at a time that the dwellers had just undergone a shoddy election that saw the ascension of a Mayor characterized with alleged vote rigging, survived an assassination attempt that left one voter at a point of no return and a political crisis that affected the governance of the municipality.

And yet, Ms. Kankunda who had never wavered in his belief in the dream of better leadership and, the fundamental belief in the goodness of the citizenry chose to first restore hope in the face of many who had lost trust in such a great office.

“Ever since she entered office, she has been protecting people within the jurisdiction from land grabbers. I personally was facing illegal eviction in Kasanje by someone who had chosen to take over my family land. For we had lost hope for justice until she came on board,” says Rashid Ssenkaaba, a resident Kasanje sub county.

Her later acts of arresting land grabbers such as a one Kyagaba who had intensified theft working with some senior Police officers within the region reassured the already disgruntled public that a new dawn of leadership had been introduced.

For Government exists simply as a means that allows us to live, love, create. If the citizenry doesn’t exist, there is no reason for government and all its leaders to exist, only if you keep standing up to the injustices and the anomalies of the tests that do lie ahead.

Inspiration too is fundamental to any leader’s wellbeing in office. A section of the members of the security committee who spoke to this website on condition of anonymity said, after the introduction of Ms. Kankunda as the new leader, the committee regained trust of its members “with a person who doesn’t dictate but fights to have consensus.”

“Whenever she finds people in pain, she does anything to help such communities thrive.  Her focus and commitment to such idea is an inspiration to some of us. For if you dedicate yourself to public service, and you serve approximately 80,000 dwellers with garrison commands in Entebbe, many of whom you will never meet, or even ever know, you ought to do it well.” The security officer added.  

Ronald Kafeero Mwesigwa, the Speaker of the Entebbe Division A described Kakunda as a fast mover who solved the Entebbe land issues swiftly and without bias. “Her office is accessible to everyone. I have not met her but what I hear is that she embracing and doing all it takes to make the area safe and with harmony. And yes, she picks calls.”

Well as all former Deputy RDCs in Entebbe only embraced NRM party members who, according to some opposition leaders, usually own RDCs, give them rumors, “For she is not moved by rumors. She is an RDC for all and embraces all a trait we admire.”

“It is imperative that we don’t become numb. The people that we serve, they have faces, families, hopes and dreams, and stories. And they are our fellow citizens. And by the virtue of that bond alone, they are worthy of our sacrifices, our commitment and service. For she must be appreciated for her incredible service that rejuvenates the Office of the President,” said the senior NUP leader in Entebbe.

For the past 10 months in office, the RDC has engaged in running battles on illegal land dealing, with consensus from the different Security Committee stakeholders, launched garbage trucks and reorganized Kajjansi market while halted all dangerous stone mining activities in the same area.  

On the periphery, several dwellers used to influencing the RDC’s office into a biased opinion now accuse the RDC of not engaging on matters of national importance hiding biases behind a wall of silence and conspiracy.

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