By Brian Mugenyi mugenyijj@gmail.com
KYANAMUKAKA, MASAKA — Inside the chilly Kampala Kingdom office of former Vice President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi, the walls are lined with history.
Portraits of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni capture decades of shared political history. Interspersed among them are photographs of Ssekandi’s grandson and close aide, Oscar Mutebi, telling a quieter, more personal story of family, continuity, and public service. While security around the former Vice President remains tight, behind the formal office doors lies an enduring narrative: Ssekandi’s deep bond with Kyanamukaka, the community that anchored his journey from a rural village to the Speaker’s chair, the State House, and back again to the roads and schools of Greater Masaka.
For Ssekandi, the journey has been long. For Kyanamukaka, it is still unfolding.
Where the Road Becomes the Story
For three decades, residents of Kyanamukaka endured roads that severely constrained rural mobility. In the dry season, choking dust blanketed the routes; during heavy rains, entire sections turned impassable. Farmers struggled to transport produce, traders faced inflated costs, students navigated treacherous paths, and critically ill patients suffered dangerous delays seeking medical care.
Today, ongoing road construction linking communities across Sserinya, Baale, Bulegeya, Kamuzinda, and Kanoni is changing that reality. “Kyanamukaka is famous today because of him,” says Oscar Mutebi, who serves as a Private Secretary in the State House alongside his duties in Ssekandi’s office.
For residents who have waited years for improved connectivity, the new tarmac represents more than civil engineering—it represents access. In a rural economy, a reliable road is the vital first link in a critical chain: connecting farms to markets, trade to household income, and income to community welfare.
Development Must Reach the People
Zaina Nakidde, the Mayor of Kyanamukaka Town Council and a prominent National Resistance Movement (NRM) cadre, has welcomed the infrastructural momentum while emphasizing that local ambitions extend beyond tarmac.
“Healthcare, education, sanitation, youth empowerment, and women’s economic participation must grow alongside physical infrastructure,” Nakidde noted. “We thank our elder and mentor, His Excellency Edward Ssekandi, for driving these road improvements and healthcare interventions.”
Her point is straightforward: infrastructure loses its purpose if citizens cannot access basic social services. Ever since Nakidde won the mayoral seat from the opposition, Kyanamukaka has steadily transformed into an emerging urban hub, with local leaders actively lobbying for state-backed development.
“Growth brings opportunity, but it also brings responsibility,” Nakidde added during a recent site visit. “We are now working through Mr. Ssekandi’s office, via his Personal Assistant Oscar, to secure resources to refurbish our town council premises and expand civic support.”
A New Generation Takes the Reins
Oscar Mutebi has increasingly become the visible face of grassroots mobilization across Greater Masaka. Championing service delivery and unity, Mutebi views his grandfather’s legacy not as a collection of past titles, but as a deep reservoir of institutional experience meant to guide emerging leaders.
Their dynamic reflects a broader generational transition: Ssekandi represents the seasoned statesmen who shaped Uganda’s post-1986 institutional landscape, while Mutebi belongs to the younger generation now tasked with carrying that leadership into the future.
From the Village to the Center of Power
Ssekandi’s political resume is extensive. After years in Parliament, he served as Speaker from 2001 to 2011, before assuming the Vice Presidency from 2011 to 2021—placing him at the heart of executive and legislative governance for two decades.
Supporters in Greater Masaka frequently refer to him as a “living encyclopedia of statecraft.” Yet, while his legacy is intertwined with the ruling NRM party, political history alone cannot sustain a rural community. Ultimately, leadership is judged by its impact on daily life.
Bridging the Gap from Soil to Market
Local businessman Stephen Kawonawo views infrastructure strictly through an economic lens. Greater Masaka remains an agricultural powerhouse driven by coffee, bananas, dairy, and livestock. However, a harvest resting at the farm gate is not yet wealth—it requires transport, mobility, and functioning markets to yield value.
Local farmers like Paul Kawonawo echo this sentiment, pointing out that dependable roads dramatically lower the cost of doing business. The core equation remains simple: a productive farmer needs access to the road as desperately as access to the soil.
A Legacy Tested by Everyday Realities
Ssekandi’s supporters point to six decades of public service; critics may view his political footprint through a different lens. Both viewpoints belong to Uganda’s evolving democratic story. Yet in Kyanamukaka, the ultimate test of leadership is practical: a mother needs an accessible health clinic, a parent needs a well-equipped school, a farmer needs a viable marketplace, and a youth needs a path to sustainable employment. These everyday demands are where high-level politics translates into lived human experience.
The Portrait That Cannot Be Framed
Back in Ssekandi’s Kampala office, the framed portraits capture a storied past. Museveni’s image honors a political partnership forged over decades, while Mutebi’s presence signals family continuity.
Yet the most compelling portrait of Ssekandi’s legacy cannot be hung on a wall. It is Kyanamukaka itself—an expanding town council where roads are opening, businesses are taking root, schools are attracting students, and citizens are demanding better public services.
The Road Ahead
Kyanamukaka’s next chapter will require more than past prestige. Sustained growth will depend on matching better roads with rural electrification, clean water access, agricultural value addition, and structured urban planning.
That burden now falls on a collective front—leaders like Zaina Nakidde, Oscar Mutebi, and local stakeholders like the Kawonawos—to convert infrastructure into lasting socio-economic development.
Ssekandi’s journey from a quiet village to Uganda’s highest constitutional offices is firmly etched in the nation’s history books. But along the bustling trade routes of Kyanamukaka, among its farmers, traders, and students, a new chapter is being written.
Perhaps that is the true meaning of Ssekandi’s road home: a leader’s official journey may eventually conclude in history, but the aspirations of his people move relentlessly forward.
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