Different political parties including the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) and Democratic Party (DP) are rocked in a fight for influence in the ongoing process to elect new leaders of the South Buganda Journalists Association (Sobuja).
Sobuja members who are spread in the nine districts of the Greater Masaka Sub Region are set to vote new leaders on December 15.
Nominated candidates are currently crisscrossing different districts in the region canvassing for votes from newsmen.
Nation Media Group (NMG) correspondent in the area, Wilson Kutamba is tussling it out with radio Buddu news anchor Matia Ssebuwufu for Sobuja presidency. Meanwhile, another NMG correspondent in Kyotera District, Ambrose Musasizi is in race for the association’s publicity secretary contesting against Uganda Broadcasting Corporation’s (UBC) Noah Kintu.
Both Mr Kutamba and Mr Ssebuwufu confirmed that they had received telephone calls from some bigwigs in the three political parties- promising to fund their campaigns.
“It is true. Some politicians were asking whether I need their support to run my campaigns but I told them off that Sobuja is non-partisan and we don’t need their support in any form,” Mr Kutamba told Monitor on Sunday.
Mr Ssebuwufu said: “The fact is that I need money to run my campaigns but accepting offers from politicians might derail my good intention of uniting Sobuja members.”
Mr Maurice Peter Matovu , who runs Greater Masaka Updates, an online publication, has already sailed through unopposed together with Mr Jude Ssonko of Radio Buddu for the position of secretary general and secretary for welfare respectively.
Both Mr Matovu and Mr Ssonko are said to be DP leaning, according to sources.
Other posts yet to be filled include the deputy president, treasurer, deputy secretary general, deputy publicity secretary, projects coordinator and representatives of the different districts.
Asked to comment on the developments, DP’s Vice President in Buganda region Dick Lukywamuzi did not necessarily admit that his party had approached some candidates.
“What we want to see is a strong journalists’ association in Greater Masaka without any political inclination,” he noted.
Mr Stephen Ngombya , the NUP publicity secretary in Masaka City said: “We are aware about their [Journalists] election but we are not supporting any one.”
Mr Rogers Mulindwa ,a communications officer at the NRM Secretariat disclosed that one of the party members brought the matter up in one of their Whatsapp groups although they did not zero in on any candidate.
“As a party, we don’t have any interest in that election. Journalists in Greater Masaka are free to elect any candidate of their choice,” he said.
Sobuja members have until recently been divided into two factions with one accusing the other of not doing enough to advance the interests of Journalists. They have since buried their hatchets and agreed to work under one fold.
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