I am ready to contest for UTOF chairmanship – Ssemakade

16 April 2025, 11:34 am

By Ronald Ssemagonja

Following responses from the top leadership of the Federation of Uganda Taxi Operators (UTOF), confirming that no elections will be held until the appropriate time, Ssemakade Nsobya Francis, a former leader at Bwaise Taxi Park and current member of UTOF, has vowed to continue pushing for elections.

In his address earlier this week, he criticised the current UTOF chairman, Rashid Sekindi, along with the entire leadership, for allegedly denying other members the opportunity to elect leaders of their choice. He argued that the interim mandate of the current leadership has expired.

“My name is Ssemakade Nsobya Francis, former administrator of Bwaise Taxi Park and a driver. I would like to clarify a few things, but before I do, allow me to appeal to the President and others who can come to our rescue, we need help to streamline our work. Sekindi and his associates, such as Kidde, came to Bwaise and disrupted our peace.

Sekindi, who claims to be our chairman, has never belonged to any officially recognised taxi park, apart from one location along Entebbe Road, which isn’t even a gazetted park. They have tried to fight me, but they cannot defeat me because their occupancy of those offices is illegal. In 2019, during the COVID-19 period, my son who was trying to protect me was kidnapped, and I have not seen him since,” he explained.

The missing son’s name is Sempala Kenny, and Ssemakade believes that the UTOF leadership may have had a hand in his disappearance.

“I’m sure they sent people to kidnap my son in an attempt to silence me but I will not be silenced. We are going to continue putting pressure until elections are organised,” said Ssemakade.

“On that note, I’m ready to contest for the UTOF Chairmanship, because I am a professional driver with over ten years of experience, and a tried and tested leader. Sekindi and his associates are in office illegally, and I will keep saying this because it is the truth.

By the way, even if UTOF members vote for someone else, not me, I will still be fine with that because at least they will have voted for someone they believe can lead them. I therefore appeal to media houses to offer me a platform to speak the truth, instead of only inviting one person like Sekindi Rashid.
I heard him on the radio claiming I’m not a taxi driver but a coaster driver. I was baffled. I am a driver of passengers, not cargo,” he added.

Meanwhile, the UTOF Vice Chairman in charge of Administration, Mayambala Mustafa, reaffirmed that no elections will be held until the General Assembly sits and decides otherwise. He was responding to concerns raised by Ssemakade and others.

“The reason I said we won’t have elections now, until the need arises, is because we are legally in office. It’s true our interim term expired, but during that time, a general meeting was convened,” Mayambala explained.

“Surprisingly, the very people who spearheaded and supported the proposal for an extension, including Sadat and my brother Ssemakade, are the ones now raising complaints. Since the members voted to give us an additional term, we cannot call for elections based on the demands of only one or two individuals. That is simply not how it works,” he emphasised.

According to the Vice Chairman in charge of Administration, everyone has the right to express their concerns if certain matters are not progressing well. This was echoed by the Chairman, Rashid Sekindi, who stated during a recent meeting that they are not perfect and are open to correction.

“People have the right to raise complaints. We encourage them to come to the office so that we can work together to find solutions to these issues. However, we cannot dismantle this federation, as it has been valuable and has brought peace to our work, despite the challenges,” Sekindi said.

He added, “We are aware of the issues in Bwaise, and we are planning to organise a meeting within the area. We intend to bring together all conductors, drivers, and other stakeholders to find a lasting solution.”