By Our Reporter,
NATIONAL
Its a traditional song in Ankole and Kigezi that; “Ekyeeba juba ni Obworo, N’obugumba,” literally meaning that poor and barren people easily forget when they become rich and conceive pregnancies.
This Banyakitara proverb can now be told to Sheema South County MP Prof Dickens Elijah Mushemeza, once a poor teacher now making fortunes in parliament on the mercy of poor electorates.
Prof Mushemeza speaking….
On Monday, Mushemeza gloated at teachers in Sheema District calling them vulnerable, poor and so miserable professionals, local Online Newspaper, The Ankole Times reported.
He made the remarks while at Kitagata town council headquarters while addressing at a function to create awareness on malaria in Sheema South County.
According to the Newspaper, Mushemeza said teachers are poor and needy to stage an industrial strike over salary grievances.
“While addressing masses yesterday at Kitagata town council headquarters, Prof Mushemeza said that most teachers have failed to know themselves that they are poor and needy,” The Ankole Times reported.
The MP was urging science teachers in government schools to keep patient about gov’t’s plans to fulfill its pledge to increase their remuneration.
He however turned into a mockery after he referred to teachers as miserable individuals who cannot mount much pressure on government and the president to increase their salaries.
‘’I want to assure you in a broad day light that you can’t afford strikes, first of all you’re poor and needy, you can’t strike for even three days off work, where will you get what to eat?” Mushemeza mocked.
The Newspaper further quoted him saying; “It’s very hard for a poor person to make a successful strike ,even if we don’t beat you, you will get off streets by yourselves.”
It should be recalled that government promised to increase salaries of science teachers but the presidential directive received strong resentments from members of parliament who said it would be unfair increasing salaries of science teachers at the expense of their arts counterparts.
The unfulfilled promise has prompted teachers to stage a sit down strike at almost every beginning of the academic term which Prof Mushemeza is against.
He intimidates that teachers that will go on strike again, will lose their jobs and be given to the unemployed graduates ready to serve in the prevailing conditions.
“These things of putting the President on pressure won’t work for you, by the way let me tell you bitter truth, those who need teaching jobs are as many as I can say , we have so many professional teachers on streets. Just strike , we shall chase you all and employ those who need jobs’’ warned Mushemeza
Prof Dickens Elijah Mushemeza joined parliament in 2021as NRM-leaning independent candidate representing the people of Sheema south in the 11th parliament of Uganda.
He is also a former teacher at Sheema District’s Church of Uganda founded University, Ankole Wrstern University- AWU where he’s been serving as a lecturer before joing the August House.
His remarks are according to opinion leaders in Sheema, a blasphemy to a person of Mushemeza’s calibre who they say his past experience in classroom should be a good emohasizer to teachers rather than hurling insults to them.
Prof Mushemeza is not the first belching Ugandan academician to hurl insults to teachers. In September 2011, John Patrick Amama Mbabazi, the then Prime Minister of Uganda told desperate teachers on strike to resign from their jobs and threatened to sack whoever striked to get increments.
This made him a renown enemy of the teaching industry and in 2O16, when he contested for presidency, the teacher’s union – UNATU was leading in decampaigning him.
James Tweheyo, the Secretary General UNATU remarkably told journalists that he would mobilize teachers across the country to decampaign Amama who he said blocked attempts by president Museveni to increase salaries for teachers.
“Mbabazi was the number one enemy of teachers in the whole country because he frustrated their attempts to get better remuneration during his time as prime minister.” Tweheyo told journalists in Mbarara in January 2O16.
With this solitary mind among teachers, its right to note that the downfall of Prof Mushemeza’s political career is inevitable unless he apologises.
