Profile of Entebbe political leadership and Entebbe Hospital

It is seven years since Mowzey Radio died so young. It is not farfetched to credit his early demise somewhat to the fact that he sustained head injuries “in a bar brawl while in Entebbe.”

There isn’t a single hospital – public or private – in the municipality that hosts Uganda’s only international airport and State House, which is equipped and human resourced to manage head injuries. It was the case seven years ago and it is still the case now.

The current Member of Parliament (MP) representing Entebbe Municipality, Hon. Kakembo Michael, a member of the National Unity Platform (NUP) political party, was elected in 2021 with a clear majority of votes, beating eight other candidates.

According to his X profile, Hon. Kakembo, identifies as “a human rights activist. Working towards a brighter future for our country.” How come we in Entebbe are not benefiting from his activism in relation to our rights to good public healthcare services?

What happened to his promises? In a post on X, moreover, on 21st December 2021, he rightly observed that Entebbe “is the only (public) hospital in Wakiso, serving a population of over 4 million people.”

From where I sit, Hon. Kakembo and NUP, the current lead opposition party in Parliament, have not sufficiently raised their voices, where it matters, on the floor of Parliament, demanding that the matter of healthcare services provision for Entebbe be prioritized and handled.

Instead, they have opted to join as wanainchi in our lamentation in the media. Neglecting to use their privileged positions in Parliament to formally talk about it and get Parliament to move the executive to do something about Entebbe Hospital.

Some of his ‘MP purposeless lamentations’ on social media, for example include:

The first sentence of Hon Kakembo’s post pinned to his X profile: “For long we’ve been talking about the price of bad leadership.” Well, Hon. Kakembo, it looks to me that we, your constituents and residents of Entebbe, are bearing the price of bad leadership, yours and otherwise, on matters Entebbe Hospital.

In another post on X, on 24th April 2023, Hon Kakembo joined in the #UgandaHealthExhibition and posted: “The problems of Uganda’s health sector are the result of poor planning and outright corruption.” If this holds true also for Entebbe Hospital, as our MP, what has he done about it?

Me thinks, nothing to write home about. No wonder, three months ago, in November 2024, Dokolo Post resorted to Machiavellianism while writing about Hon. Kakembo’s legacy.

Baiting with a headline, “Hon. Michael Kakembo, Transforming Entebbe Municipality Through Leadership and Service”; but which is not substantiated in the story. The Dokolo Post story, in its entirety, consisted of generic statements of praise, such as:

“Michael Kakembo has played a significant role in enhancing Entebbe Municipality residents’ ability to obtain healthcare services. His lobbying work has resulted in improved healthcare facilities, increased accessibility to medical professionals and supplies, and improved community health outcomes.”

Certainly, this praise of Hon. Kakembo, does not hold true for Entebbe Hospital. In your remaining period of your current term of office, please Hon. Kakembo, do better. Raise up on the floor of Parliament and make submissions until such a time as the Executive is moved to act on matters Entebbe Hospital. Thank you.

Profiled photo @ New Vision.