The National Unity Platform President, Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has expressed his sorrow over the death of Muhammad Ssegirinya, the Member of Parliament for Kawempe North.
Ssegirinya was pronounced dead on the morning of Thursday, January 9.
Sharing his grief on X, Bobi Wine wrote: "Very sad news this morning. Our brother, our friend, our fellow leader Hon. Muhammad Ssegirinya has passed on. Such a dark morning. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un!"
Ssegirinya, who was 37 years old, had been receiving treatment for cancer and other undisclosed illnesses for some time.
Who is Muhammad Ssegirinya?
The Member of Parliament for Kawempe North, Muhammad Ssegirinya, was pronounced dead on Thursday morning, January 9. He was 37 years old. Ssegirinya had been undergoing treatment for cancer and other undisclosed illnesses for some time.
Born in 1988 in Butale, Kadugala, Masaka District, Uganda, Ssegirinya was the eldest of five siblings in a Catholic family. During an interview on NTV's Tuwaye show, he shared that his childhood was marked by extreme poverty.
He recalled selling sugarcane from his peasant father's fields, describing his father as “a very poor man.” At birth, he was named Richard Ssegirinya but later adopted the name Muhammad after converting from Roman Catholicism to Islam.
Ssegirinya attended Kadugala Primary School, where he achieved 13 aggregates, and pursued his secondary education at Kaddugala Secondary School and Pimba Secondary School in Kyebando. According to official documents submitted during his parliamentary bid, he held a certificate in Urban Food Experience from the Netherlands. Ugandan newspaper The Observer reported that this qualification, equivalent to a Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (the minimum requirement for a parliamentary role), made him one of the least formally educated members of parliament.
Ssegirinya gained public recognition in Uganda through his regular contributions to Kampala-based radio talk shows, referring to himself as “Ssegirinya Eddoboozi lye Kyebando” (Ssegirinya, the Voice of Kyebando). He later became a social media sensation under the moniker “Mr. Update.”
From 2016 to 2021, he served as a Lord Councillor for Kampala Capital City, representing Kawempe North.
In 2021, he successfully contested the Kawempe North parliamentary seat under the National Unity Platform (NUP) ticket, defeating nine other candidates, including the incumbent Abdulatif Ssebagala Ssengendo and former Deputy Lord Mayor Sulaiman Kidandala. Although his victory was legally challenged by one of his opponents, Sulaiman Kidandala, the case was dismissed, and Ssegirinya was declared the rightful winner.
Ssegirinya’s political journey was not without setbacks. In 2011, he contested for the Kawempe North parliamentary seat but lost. He faced another defeat during the 2016 Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party primaries for the same seat. However, he secured a councillor position representing Kawempe North at Kampala Capital City Authority.
In September 2021, Ssegirinya faced serious legal troubles. He was summoned by the Uganda Police Force’s Criminal Investigations Department over alleged involvement in rebel activities in the Greater Masaka region. Days later, he was charged with three counts of murder and one of attempted murder and remanded to Kitalya Maximum Security Prison.
On February 13, 2023, Ssegirinya was released on bail.