Kawempe North MP, Muhammad Ssegirinya, is currently brain dead, with most of his organs shut down, as stated by the Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, on Thursday. This news contradicts earlier reports about his death.
Ssenyonyi explained, “The doctors said he’s brain dead. They said all his internal organs have shut down. But there’s that small pulse. The doctors said they cannot pronounce him dead because it’s ethically wrong. We ask Ugandans, especially his constituents in Kawempe North to pray for him.”
The Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among, also confirmed that Ssegirinya is not dead. Speaking during the morning plenary session, she assured MPs that the legislator is still alive but in a critical state. “Upon consultation with the doctors, they informed us that his organs have collapsed, but the heart is still on, so ethically, they cannot pronounce him dead,” she said.
Sr. Grace Nanyondo, the acting executive director at Rubaga Hospital, added that the MP is critically ill. “He is critically sick. He needs our love and prayers. We cannot declare him dead. He’s critically sick,” she said.
Ssegirinya, 37, has faced many challenges in his life, but he became well-known after starting to call into live political talk shows back in 2006. At the time, he was a Senior Three student at Pimba Secondary School in Kyebando, Kawempe North, and referred to himself as ‘eddoboozi lye Kyebando’ or ‘the voice of Kyebando’. His ambitions grew, and he began calling himself ‘MP to be, Kawempe North’.
Despite his struggles with English, many didn’t take him seriously at first. But in the 2021 General Election, Ssegirinya surprised many by defeating Suleiman Kidandala in the NUP primary for Kawempe North. He won by a landslide, polling 41,197 votes against Kidandala’s 7,512. Kidandala, defying NUP’s advice, had run as an independent.
However, just months after his victory, Ssegirinya and fellow NUP MP Allan Ssewanyana were arrested in connection with the machete killings in the greater Masaka region. They were granted bail on September 21, 2021, but were rearrested shortly after and faced new murder charges related to the Lwengo District machete killings, in which more than 20 people were killed.
During their one-and-a-half-year time on remand, rumors spread that their imprisonment was unrelated to the killings. Some even suggested that their arrests were a result of their connections with powerful figures within the ruling NRM party.
Despite his ongoing health battle, Ssegirinya recently indicated his intention to run for re-election in the 2026 general election.
