Elected councillor fails to raise school fees, blames parent for shelving him

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A 19-year-old who recently won a campaign to become a councillor for Mugomba LC II in Mpatta sub-county, Mukono district is struggling to return to school after his parents declined to pay his fees over political differences.

Amos Wambede, 19, a senior five student at St. Balikuddembe SS Kisoga says that after securing victory in the recently concluded elections where he contested as an independent candidate, his father Moses Madanda said he had now matured enough to take care of his needs.

“My father did not support my decision to join politics. When I insisted and got nominated, he sided with my opponent from the ruling National Resistance Movement-NRM party. But even though he campaigned for my opponent, I still emerged a winner with a margin of 50 votes,” Wambede says.

According to results released by the Electoral Commission, Wambede scored 258 votes, followed by James Wasswa, the NRM candidate who got 208 votes and Wasswa Obonyo (DP) who had 119 votes. While waiting for his term of office to start, Wambede intended to return to school and complete his A-level.

But when the government opened schools for senior five learners, he did not have enough money to enable him to return to school. The semi-candidates reported to their respective schools on March 1, 2021, after almost a year at home. They are expected to break off for two weeks on May 21, and return on June 7, for a special term before they are promoted to candidate classes.

St Balikuddembe SS charges 900,000 Shillings for senior five learners in the boarding section. However, the school management offered to reduce Wambede’s fees to 600,000 in consideration of his financial need. But since the end of elections in February, Wambede has managed to save 200,000 Shillings from casual work such as digging in gardens and working at bricklaying sites.

At the time URN visited him at his parent’s home in Sozi village, Wambede was slashing a neighbour’s plantation to raise more money.

His father Madanda, a former fisheries officer at Mpatta sub-county, a coffee and banana farmer declined to say anything on record about Wambede’s concerns saying it is out of his interest to speak about family matters before the press.

However, Wambede’s mother Jenipher Mirembe says ambitious children will never simply understand their parents even when they are facing financial constraints. She adds that her husband loves their son and equally supported his political campaign.

Sozi village vice-chairperson Julius Kabugo notes that several children in the community have dropped out of school and joined fishing and boda boda businesses, and called for support for Wambede so that he does not become one of the dropouts. Mukono Resident District Commissioner-RDC Fatuma Ndisaba advises Wambede to consider cheaper schools or seed schools.

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