When Basalirwa became the 'political messiah' at Makerere University

Backed by the largest opposition party in Parliament, National Unity Platform, Basalirwa ended up with 66 votes as parliament elected National Resistance Movement party flag bearer Anita Among Speaker by 401 votes to replace the Jacob Oulanyah who passed over a week ago.

Francis Zaake in the middle, Speaker and Deputy Speaker Hon. Asuman Basalirwa of Bugiri (right) and Hon. Okot Bitek of Kioga County (left) Pulse Live Uganda

Asuman may have lost that battle, but he has always been a formidable political candidate.

Back in Makerere University, in the late 90s, Basalirwa resoundingly won the guild presidency after impressing the students with his brilliant oratory.

The dapper MP Pulse Live Uganda

As a student politician, he loved using puzzling African proverbs like, "A lizard longs to sit down but its tail doesn't let it".

After he said that, you'd be like, "Oh okay, I was just asking for directions to the Main Hall. But I guess that works too."

Political messiah Pulse Live Uganda

He seemed to be a fount of endless African proverbs which made the audience erupt into chants of "Messiah! Messiah! Messiah!"

For his campaign posters bore the words " Vote Asuman Basalirwa: The Political Messiah".

But did he deliver Makerere from evil?

Well, his hall of residence, Lumumba Hall, houses students who call themselves "Elephants". At the front of Lumumba Hall, there stands has a human-shaped monument called Gongom.

The deliverer Pulse Live Uganda

Gongom was addressed as “His Majesty” and dressed in a graduate gown from under which an elephantine penis projected while wrapped in XXX Large Condoms.

Gongom Pulse Live Uganda

One of Basalirwa’s tasks as a first-year student and “Chief Fresher” was to dress Gongom in a condom. In this, he succeeded invariably and thereby delivered many from unprotected sex by this very gesture.

Who is Basalirwa?

Asuman Basalirwa was on born November 17, 1977) is a member of the 11th parliament, representing Bugiri Municipality.

He was first elected to the parliament in 2018 on the ticket of Justice Forum (JEEMA). Basalirwa has been the president of JEEMA, from 2010 to date

Basalirwa earned his First School Leaving Certificate from Mwiri Primary School in 1991, and Uganda Certificate of Education (UCE), 1996 and Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) from Kiira College Butiki in 1998.

Legal Counsel Pulse Live Uganda

He holds a Diploma in Legal Practice from the Law Development Centre (LDC) Kampala, Uganda in 2004. In 2008, he finished from Pretoria University with a Certificate in International Humanitarian Law and a Master of Laws from Makerere University in 2015. He’s a Lawyer/Partner at Sewankambo & Co. Advocates.