Kawempe North MP Muhammad Segirinya dies after prolonged illness

9 January 2025, 3:48 pm

By Ronald Ssemagonja

The Member of Parliament for Kawempe North, Hon. Muhammad Ssegirinya, has been confirmed dead at Rubaga Hospital. The hospital management announced his passing earlier today, stating that he died this afternoon. In a statement, they extended their condolences to the Parliament of Uganda and the entire nation.

Hon. Ssegirinya was born in 1988 in Butale, Kadugala, Masaka district, Uganda. He was the firstborn in a Catholic family with four siblings. During an appearance on NTV’s Tuwaye show, he described his poverty-stricken childhood, which forced him to sell sugarcane from his peasant father, whom he described as “a very poor man.”

At birth, he was named Richard Ssegirinya but later adopted the name Muhammad after converting from Roman Catholicism to Islam. On a local TV show, Omuntu Wabantu, Ssegirinya revealed he attended Kadugala Primary School, where he scored 13 aggregates. He later pursued secondary education at Kadugala Secondary School and Pimba Secondary School in Kyebando.

According to official documents submitted for his parliamentary candidacy, Ssegirinya held a certificate in Urban Food Experience from the Netherlands. The Observer, a Ugandan newspaper, reported that the certificate was equivalent to a Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE), the minimum qualification for parliamentary roles. This made him one of the least formally educated members of Uganda’s Parliament.

Ssegirinya rose to prominence in Uganda through his regular calls to Kampala-based radio talk shows, referring to himself as “Ssegirinya Eddoboozi Lye Kyebando” (The Voice of Kyebando). He later became a social media sensation under the alias “Mr. Update.” He served as the Lord Councillor for Kampala Capital City, representing Kawempe North, from 2016 to 2021. He eventually won the Kawempe North MP seat, defeating nine other candidates, including the incumbent Abdulatif Ssebagala Ssengendo and former Deputy Lord Mayor Sulaiman Kidandala.

In 2011, Ssegirinya first contested for the Kawempe North parliamentary seat but lost. In 2016, he competed in the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party primaries for the same seat but was unsuccessful. He later won a position as Councillor representing Kawempe North at Kampala Capital City Authority.

In 2021, he contested the Kawempe North parliamentary seat under the National Unity Platform (NUP) and won. His victory was challenged in court by his rival Sulaiman Kidandala, but the case was dismissed, affirming his win.

On 3 September 2021, Ssegirinya was summoned by the Uganda Police Force, alongside fellow MP Allan Ssewanyana, for questioning over alleged involvement in rebel activities in the Greater Masaka region. On 7 September 2021, he was remanded to Kitalya Maximum Security Prison on charges including three counts of murder and one of attempted murder. No proof of these allegations was ever presented. He was released on bail on 13 February 2023.

In August 2023, Ssegirinya travelled to the Netherlands for treatment at AMC Amsterdam. Following his release from prison, his health deteriorated, leading to frequent hospitalisations in Nairobi and Kampala. His illness limited his parliamentary attendance, though in August 2024, he announced his intention to contest again for the MP seat in 2026.