She was the first woman in history to hold the office of Leader of Opposition but Kasese Woman MP, Winfred Kiiza certainly made the most of it.
She held together Members of Parliament from across the divide and has been hailed by fellow colleagues as a uniting factor who went beyond her party – FDC to work with fellow members to further the cause of change.
Matooke Republic looks back on the top five moments of her tenure as LoP.
Abiriga’s Eulogy
When Arua MP Ibrahim Abiriga was gunned down in cold blood together with his bodyguard who was also his blood brother, Saidi Kongo, Parliament organised a special sitting to pay tribute to the fallen member.
Winnie Kiiza gave a moving tribute that left members in tears. This is what she said:
“Here we are mourning one of us who has been gunned down in a brutal manner. I remember at the state of the nation address, Abiriga told me, come and we sit here together. I told him, ah your yellow is too much, I will have to first dress you in blue. He told me, my sister let these colors not separate us. Killings will have no colour, no status, no shame. Abiriga was so keen on the seven years’ extension, little did he know he won’t even finish the five. Let us not make enemies because we are just playing our part and we shall all leave.”
Age limit debate
The age limit debate brought out the best and worst of MPs but for Kiiza, it was time to make her mark. The indefatigable woman caused the Speaker, Rebecca Kadaga, and the Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Jacob Oulanyah to adjourn the House twice on days NRM’s Raphael Magyezi was to table his motion for first reading.
It took the invasion of Parliament by gunmen for Magyezi to finally get his day out.
Returning age limit consultation money
In order to legitimise the consultation process, Parliament gave all MPs Shs29m to consult their voters on whether or not the Constitution should be amended and the article 102(b) removed to allow someone to run for president past the age of 75 years.
Kiiza mobilised opposition MPs to return the money deposited on their bank accounts. She said MPs are allocated money to do consultations in their ‘hefty’ salaries.
Togikwatako
The phrase ‘togikwatako’ (do not touch it) was coined by the Democratic Party (DP) but the popular red colour and bandanas that symbolised the struggle was Kiiza’s doing. All Opposition MPs and some Independents that did not support the lifting of the age limit were required to wear red. They took it to another level.
Age limit ruling
Despite the age limit ruling being in Mbale High Court, 244kms from Kampala, Winnie Kiiza attended all the court sessions religiously. The Court ruling went towards midnight but she endured till all the five judges of the Constitutional Court had read their ruling. Not so many MPs or members of the opposition made it.