Former Ethics and Integrity Minister Hon Miria Matembe has questioned the standards of candidates Ugandans are voting to the August House. Matembe was recently defeated by NRM’s Peggy Waako in the Elderly Member of Parliament election race.
Matembe who was contesting on an Independent ticket managed to poll only 56 votes while Peggy Waako polled 690 votes in the delegates election held on January 22 at Islamic University, Kabojja campus, Kampala.
The renowned women rights activist says Ugandans no longer look at the abilities of candidates and the values they stand for but only vote out of bandwagon.
“With 17 years as a parliamentarian in Uganda, doing a constitution and doing everything that I stand for, if I can lose the election to a mere former community development officer with only a diploma then I’m overqualified for the type of parliamentarians we need,” says Matembe
For over two decades beginning in 1989, Matembe was a member of parliament. She worked in government as minister for ethics and integrity from 1998 to 2003, after which time she became a member of the Pan-African Parliament representing Uganda.