How would you describe yourself to a Ugandan hearing about you for the first time? I suppose the best way is to start with my names and the work I have done. My name is Sarah Kiyingi Kyama. I am married with five children, and three grandchildren. I am a former Member of the Ugandan Parliament. I served two terms, from 1996 to 2006, representing Rakai district then. I was also appointed Minister of State for Internal Affairs for about four years (1998-2004). However, there came a time when the discussion of removing the Presidential term limits arose and I didn't support the idea. The four of us in Cabinet at that time, who had expressed our views against that constitutional amendment were all fired from cabinet. I decided that I didn't want to stand again as a member of parliament, after 2006. I later moved away from politics to pursue a course in counselling and did some Bible Study teaching for some members of Parliament. Right now, I am a farmer - growing Macadamia Nuts, and raring cows and goats.
Tell us about your upbringing and what it was like. Also tell us how you got to enter politics in the first place. I was born to parents who were ordinary farmers, they didn't go to school much, and they made their money penny by penny. I started studying in our village school and then went to Bororo Senior Secondary School and completed my A-levels at Kyebambe Girls Secondary School. I then pursued masters at the University of Nairobi. I worked for four years in the Netherlands but with my two children then, I felt it was better to raise them in Uganda. This is how I returned home. I can't say that I was particularly interested in politics, but my father was one of the people that were part of the liberation struggle. He did not go to the Bush, but he was a supporter. He was arrested, killed, and we didn't bury him because we never got to see his body. Back home, he had been known as a very helpful person in the community. I did not want to join politics because I was going to join Makerere University as a teaching assistant. At that time, you could teach while pursuing your Ph.D. I encountered politics within the department, which made it difficult to join. While I waited for this to resolve itself, several people urged me to run for Member of Parliament. I ran and I won. While in Parliament, I made sure that I delivered on my promises to my constituency. I also made it a point to set boundaries and limits of what I could do, and what I couldn't. People understood, for instance, when I ran for elections, that there are places I would not be willing to campaign in, such as bars. People will respect you for the values you bring, and integrity is high up there for me.
On allegations that she once regretted joining politics, she gives us some clarity. First, I want to correct what I saw in an article which stated that I regretted joining politics. No, I did not and do not regret joining politics. What I said was that I regretted having been in the NRM because we were given the impression that we were on the same track, yet Mr. Museveni had a completely different agenda from what he presented and what he made Ugandans believe. From the beginning, what he was saying was that the problem of Uganda and Africa in general, was people that stayed in power too long and yet when we got to 2001, he went ahead and convinced, bribed, and coerced people for him to stay longer in power. He succeeded in having the term limit removed, with people wrongly thinking that the age limits will serve a good purpose. When I left parliament, I did say that I don’t think I would want to go back into politics but then I realized that if those of us who believe in moral values or integrity don't engage in politics, there is no hope for us. People think politics is a dirty game but, in my view, the problem lies in the people that we send to parliament. When I saw that among the things that the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) espoused were the godly values of integrity and transparency, I knew I still had a role to play in politics. I want to support the building of a party that espouses the values that I hold dear, promote them, and mentor people, and try to transform society. For me, I initially felt I could not continue in politics. But as I intimated earlier, it is everybody's responsibility to participate in cleaning up the politics of our nation. If I do not do my part, then I have only myself to blame. As the saying goes, all it takes for evil to flourish, is for good people to do nothing. I therefore chose to re-enter politics and participate with people who shared my value system.
On what makes ANT different from NRM. I think for me it is that NRM as a system of individual merit ceased to be, and everybody had to join a party. ANT, for me espoused the kind of godly values, such as integrity, transparency, and accountability that would move our society forward. The leadership General Muntu provided, for example, has proved that he's a person that can be trusted. ANT can be trusted. One of our policies as ANT is that we build a society from the grassroots, we help Ugandans understand that this is their society, and if they want to see good in this society they must participate. People should not sit back and ask, “Why isn’t the party doing for us this, now why don’t they give us this or that?” But the question is "who makes up the party?", it's the members. We are the party. This is what makes a difference for me. ANT is a party based on values.
What do you bring to ANT? I bring experience along the lines of a born-again Christian participating in politics because I think that is something that people need to know. First, as believers, it's our responsibility to participate in politics and we can participate in politics without doing all those wicked things we hear politicians do. During the campaigns, many people said things like “You people, you have the message, and you are the right party to lead this country, but you don’t have money. You are not aggressive.” Our response remained the same: we are standing to lead, and this is your country. If you value these things and you vote for us, then it will come to pass. The power is yours to vote. If you think these values are good for you, then you should vote for us. There is nothing that propels a person as much as their testimony. For me, you can't tell me that for somebody to participate in politics, they must bribe people, tell lies, and such. I have been invited politics, and I won the election without bribing people, without telling people things they wanted to hear. I told them the truth. But if we continue voting for people who tell us lies, we will not see the kind of change we want for our nation. All this to say, I bring the experience of a legislator who knows the importance of representing her people in Parliament and can give this same guidance as the party carries out mobilisation. People can gain confidence in the party from my experience and clean record. On the current political situation. Our country is in a difficult situation. First, we seem to have the army in every department, civil servants are being retrenched for not supporting the ruling party and such. How can a nation advance when its President is filling every department with only his presumed supporters? We have human rights issues; people being arrested and disappearing; land troubles that never get resolved. For me, all this points to a narrow view of the future by the current government. The biggest misfortune for Ugandans is having a President who is in power, not for their sake but for his own sake. He has blatantly asserted that, “If you think I'm your servant, I'm not, I went to the Bush for myself and my grandchildren.” I believe Ugandans have had enough, and I am not convinced that they voted for Mr Museveni. The past election was solely rigged, right from the Electoral Commission.
Let's talk about the covid-19 situation. Look at schools, other businesses, the way the government is handling them, what do you make of the situation? It has been difficult for the world. Many have died, many left parent-less. My thoughts go out to all the families that have been affected. I must commend the president for how covid was handled at the very beginning. That said, there were unfortunate actions that followed, where money was collected to assist the country to cope with the pandemic, and instead Government and Parliament used the funds to their own benefit. There is lack of leadership in our country and covid showed us how bad it is. What would have been useful for our country is for this government to show up and keep their word to the people. If you say there will be radios to assist children with learning, let it be so. The other day I saw the Minister for Education, Honourable Janet Museveni saying, “How can you not trust us?” What she does not realise is that trust is built, and people trust you based on what you are doing. Because this government continues to pursue the narrow view of entrenching President Museveni in power, the ordinary people continue to suffer.
When ANT finally gets into power, what should people expect? For us as ANT, we are preparing to take power and we want Ugandans to trust us. We are more concerned about transforming this nation from a country that is ruled by one person, a person who is taking this country through deception, to a country that is focusing on values of integrity and accountability, and improving the economy, and making everybody equal before the law. Our commitment is to building structures from the grassroots. We are confident that Ugandans will partner with us in building back a better and stronger nation.
What are your closing remarks to every Ugandan? I want to tell Ugandans that while we are going through a difficult time, just know that it will pass. God is with us, don't be discouraged. The Bible, in Galatians 6:9 says, "And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart." Let us just do our part because when you know that you are doing your part, you will also be better able to sleep at night. Wherever we get a chance to speak or do something, let's show commitment, work excellently, and trust that God will see us through. I want to remind Ugandans, that we cannot look to someone else to miraculously save us. We must do our part and save ourselves.