Musician turned politician Ronald Mayinja has revealed why he has failed to stand for Gomba Member of Parliament seat.
In 2017, the ‘tuli kubunkenke’ singer declared that he was going to contest for the political office but during the nomination exercise for MPs that took place on Thursday and Friday, Mayinja was no where to be seen.
In an interview with one of the local media outlets,Mayinja revealed that he realised he needed a lot of money to run his campaigns which he did not have. He stressed out that it required him to sell some of his properties to raise money for the whole process.
“After looking at how much money is required to get through the whole process, I realised I was not well equipped financially. It actually required me to sell some of my properties to raise money which did not sound ideal to me. I just decided to wait until I get enough money to do active politics,” he disclosed.
A few months ago, it was alleged that Mayinja was being forced to sell off his hotel in order to refund the money he got from President Museveni. The hotel in question is known as Roma Motel which is situated along Entebbe Road.
Amon Arinaitwe, Mayinja’s business partner also cofounder of his ‘Peace for All, All for Peace’ initiative told Mulengera news website that the ‘bizeemu’ singer met Museveni at his Kisozi farm where he was given three cars;- two pickups and a V8 plus cash to help him run his political movement activities.
However to Arinaitwe, whereas the cars were meant to ease their work as they traversed the country preaching the “positives” of Museveni’s government, Mayinja turned them into his personal property something that is holding back their work since these were the only “tools” and “financial support” which the initiative had.
It was also revealed that the ‘bizeemu’ singer went ahead to sell the V8 used the money for his own purposes.
Following the incident, Mayinja’s partners were not willing to lose out on the initiative’s property thus forcing the singer to return the property and money he got from the president for the good of their political organization.
“Mayinja’s Roma Motel is on sale by mafias. They are saying that he sold their car V8 which was given to him by the president so he was told to pay and he failed,” a source told this Website.
It ought to be remembered that Mayinja launched the initiative early this year attracting criticism from the People Power pressure group to which he initially belonged. They accused him of receiving money from Museveni to fail Bobi Wine, a claim he has always denied until now when it has been confirmed by his deputy, who also wants the singer to return the movement’s property after failing to put them into good use.
During the launch of ‘Peace for All, All for Peace’ initiative in January this year, Mayinja outlined five key tasks that they intended to accomplish, including carrying out nation-wide tours to sensitise Ugandans on the importance of peace, compose music that promotes peace in differed local dialects, and downplaying divisionism.
Others were to promote mutual respect among Ugandans irrespective of their divergent views on social, political and economic trends in the country and mobilise more Ugandans to be part of the peace movement.
According to Mayinja, they decided to come up with the movement to foster peace and co-existence as a key factor in social, political and economic transformation.
“We members of Peace for All, All for Peace, recognise that our country’s history is characterised by social and political instabilities, with the absence of peace since independence; that social and political instabilities are the fundamental bottlenecks to social, economic and political transformation; that some actors do not appreciate the importance and prominence; resolved and undeterred with commitment to foster positive change in the cause of a peaceful Uganda….,” the document read.
In 2018, Mayinja was also denounced as a member of the Democratic Party (DP) as officials claimed that he was not a registered party member. This followed Mayinja’s performance at one of the ruling party’s (National Resistance Movement) events after it won the age limit case.
In August this year, Mayinja crawled back to People Power/ National Unity Platform (NUP) where he initially belonged before allegedly receiving a brown envelope from the President.
While at the party headquarters in Kamwokya, Mayinja explained himself thereby requesting Bobi Wine and his loyal fans to forgive him for betraying them.
In his defence, he said that he only went to meet Museveni to collect some crucial information from him.
“I met President Museveni and asked him if he still has plans for the country but let me tell you the truth. having a one on one with grandpa, it was clear to me that he no longer has plans for the us. I apologize for accepting to meet Museveni but I belong here, I am so sorry for offending you my people,” Mayinja said.
The singer further denied receiving a ‘fat’ envelope or car from the President, and assured NUP fans that he didn’t make a return because he wants to stand for any political position, but instead to assist the party into reaching its set goals.
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