Small body big brain: Kalungu East MP hopeful Kiruluuta likened to Ssegirinya

As the political space strives to fill the vacuum left behind by the former Kawempe North MP Muhammad Ssegirinya who died at the beginning of this year, there is another rising star with the same pro-people ideology of being a servant leader. The name of the rising star is Kiruluuta Yusuf Junior Nkerettanyi, a prominent youthful businessman aspiring for Kalungu East Member of Parliament under the National Unity Platform party.

Nkerettanyi, a born of 1993 to a peasant family in the local Kabale-Bugonzi village in Lukaya Town Council, Kalungu district has been having a vision to legislate for his people but his dream faced multiple hurdles and financial hardships he encountered in the course of his growth and academic journey.

Nkerettanyi was this child whose parents struggled to raise school fees and it was a struggle itself to keep him in one school. However his academic excellence stood up for him and kept his journey alive and in fact he has attested that the most of his academic life, he was studying under scholarships from well wishers.

”I never thought I would reach Makerere University but one thing I knew was that I would do all possible to get there,” he told this publication. “I had a bad childhood. Growing up in a family where even having breakfast with sugar was a privilege,” he added.

After finishing his UACE at Lubiri High School under a bursary scheme by the Buganda kingdom, Nkerettanyi was able to make it to Makerere University where he pursued a Bachelor’s degree in drama and film under private sponsorship. It is this career that sharpened his thinking and he became actively engaged in the street hustles in downtown Kampala.

”I was this student who would only come for lectures and leave immediately to go to downtown to struggle,” he says. “I have done several odd jobs at some point I worked at a construction site earning UGX 7000 daily. Life was hard for me but I knew where I was going. My hustles didn’t break me but they made me stronger and more determined,” he adds.

His Vision

Nkerettanyi who subscribes to the People Power ideology envisions a Kalungu East where essential services reach to the common person, and indeed using his small resources he has been able to establish community boreholes, scholarships, community charity and on top of all this he has improvised small working capital for the starting entrepreneurs in not just Kalungu but also Kampala city. In our next episode, we will delve into the discussion of why we believe Nkerettanyi is a better candidate for NUP in Kalungu East in juxtaposition with the incumbent Francis Katabaazi Katongole who is facing a political hiccup in the constituency.