By Spy Uganda
Kampala: Ousted Kabula Constituency Member of Parliament in the January 2021 elections, James Kakooza has ‘slaughtered’ ever boasting ‘No.4’ in the hierarchy of the National Resistance Movement party (NRM) dubbed former Tourism Minister Godfrey Kiwanda Suubi to replace fallen Mathias Kasamba in the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA).
In the elections held at Kololo Independence Grounds today, NRM Parliamentary caucus gave green light to Kakooza after garnering 93 votes beating his competitors, Kiwanda who got 85 and Abas Mutumba (former political assistant to the late Kasamba) who garnered 54.
The victory gives a go-ahead for Kakooza to replace Kasamba who died in April this year, according to EALA office tenure, he was supposed to be out of office at the end of 2022. Kakooza now awaits to be presented to the floor of Parliament by NRM Chief whip in Wednesday next week, and thereafter he will officially take on the mantle after taking oath.
Kakooza joins fellow members on the NRM ticket, the likes of Paul Musamali from East, Denis Namara from West and George Stephen Odongo from North.
The election had attracted a number of participants among them including former minister for East African Affairs, Julius Maganda among others.
However, in the CEC meeting chaired by President Museveni mid-week at State House Entebbe, party brass resolved to trim the numbers of aspirants, chopping off mostly those from regions outside central saying their candidates are always representative of regional and gender balance which are key pillars of the party.
Who Is James Kakooza?
James Kakooza is a Ugandan accountant and politician. He is former State Minister for Health (Primary Care). He’s former Member of Parliament for Kabula County, Lyantonde District. He served in that position from 2001 till 2021.
He holds degree of Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) from Nkumba University. He also holds Diploma in Clearing & Forwarding, as well as a Certificate in Customs Basics & Tax Administration awarded by the Uganda Revenue Authority. He has certification recognizing him as a Certified Public Accountant from Kenya.
His varied career has seen James Kakooza work in several different private and public positions, over the course of the last twenty years. Between 1989 and 1990, he worked as an Accounts Officer at Karibu Forex Bureau, one of the more than 100 Foreign Exchange Bureaus in Kampala.
Between 1991 and 1992, he worked as a Banking Officer in Sembule Bank, the precursor of present-day Bank of Africa. He left the bank and worked as a Clearing and Forwarding Agent from 1992 until 2001 when he joined parliament.
Between 1994 until 2001, he served as Business Director Kabale Distributors Limited, a Ugandan Import/Export company. He has also served as Director of the Uganda Importers and Exporters Traders Association, an Industry association.
In 2001, he entered politics and was elected to the Ugandan Parliament to represent Kabula County, Lyantonde District.Â
We wish him success in his next journey at Arusha TZ as Spy Uganda.
