Who is Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda? Flash Uganda Media looks at his biography, age, wife, family, tribe, achievements, and relationship with Hajji Ali Nganda Nkwanga, Hajjat Sophia Nalwooga, Faridah Babirye Ssemujju, the early life and education of a politician and journalist from Uganda.
Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda is a politician and journalist from Uganda.
In the 11th Parliament, he serves as the member of parliament for the Constituency of Kira municipality.
Ssemujju belongs to the political party Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). Despite the age limit repeal measure being passed, he vehemently disagreed with it and rejected it.
Early Life
On September 23, 1973, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda was born in Bijaaba Village, Kyazanga Municipality, Lwengo District.
Lwengo District was still a part of Masaka District at that time. He belongs to the Baganda tribe and is a Muganda.
He is one of Hajji Ali Nganda Nkwanga’s forty-eight children and Hajjat Sophia Nalwooga’s sixteen children.
Education Background
Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda studied at the Bijaaba Islamic Institute, where he earned his primary leaving certificate.
Ssemujju then enrolled in the institute’s secondary school division after it opened. But by Senior two, his male classmates had moved on to odd jobs in nearby Masaka Town, while the majority of his female classmates had married and dropped out.
He persuaded his father to enrol him in Masaka Secondary School for his Senior 3 studies by raising what little money he could. Even though he didn’t speak much English at the time, they nonetheless admitted him.
He performed well over time and passed his O-Level exams in 1992.
He continued with his high school education at Masaka Secondary School and completed his A-Level studies. In 1995, Ssemujju finished as the best student in his class.
With full scholarship funding from the Ugandan government, he was accepted to Makerere University to study public communication.
Ssemujju was the first child in his family to receive a government scholarship and to pass Senior four and 6 with perfect scores.
He received his Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication degree in 1998.
Semujju was the president of the Makerere University Muslim Student Association while he was a student there.
Education background summary
| Years | Institution | Status /Award |
| Bijaaba Islamic Institute | PLE | |
| 1992 | Masaka Secondary School | UCE |
| 1995 | Masaka Secondary School | UACE |
| 1998 | Makerere University | Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication degree |
Family Life
Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda is married to his wife, Faridah Babirye Ssemujju.
They are the parents of six children; three daughters and three sons.
Career and Professional Work Experience
Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda started as a news writer for the Crusader, a tri-weekly publication that was mostly edited by Semujju’s professors while at Makerere University.
He was employed as a reporter for the Daily Monitor right out of Makerere University, where he remained until 2004 covering the Ugandan parliament news.
He was also a journalism lecturer at the Islamic University of Uganda from 2000 to 2001.
He quit the Daily Monitor in 2004 to work as a shareholder and reporter for The Observer.
At the Weekly Observer, he was appointed political editor, a position he held until 2011. He received additional responsibilities in 2009 as the editor of educational news.
His journalistic work, particularly covering the 2009 Buganda riots, had an impact on his political career. Semujju declared that he had to start advocating for the interests of the Buganda Kingdom instead of continuing as a journalist.
He left his journalism position in 2011 to run for Kyadondo County East’s parliamentary seat.
He gained the seat by running on the platform of the political party Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).
Kira Municipality was given a parliamentary seat apart from Kyadondo East before the February 2016 local, legislative, and presidential elections.
Ssemujju contested and prevailed in the FDC political party’s candidacy for that seat.
He lost to Jacob Oulanyah in his attempt to run for Speaker of the Parliament.
Ibrahim Nganda ran for office again in 2021, still as the representative for the Kira Municipality, and he won again with a resounding landslide victory, taking office for a second term.
The FDC National Executive Committee chose Ssemujju to be the party’s whip in the legislature. He was, however, dismissed from the position by Amuriat and Nandala in August 2023. Yusuf Nsibambi, the MP for Mawokota South, took his seat.
In a contentious delegate election held in October 2023, John Kikonyogo was also chosen to serve as the new party spokesperson replacing him.
Work experience background summary
| Years | Institution | Position |
| 1998 – 2004 | Daily Monitor | Reporter |
| 2000 – 2001 | Islamic University in Uganda | Lecturer |
| 2004 – 2011 | The Observer | Political editor |
| 2009 – 2011 | The Observer | Educational news editor |
Member of Parliament work experience summary
| Term | Years | Constituency | Other roles |
| 2011 – 2016 | Kyadondo County East | ||
| 1st | 2016 – 2021 | Kira Municipality | Committee Chair on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises |
| 2nd | 2021 – 2016 | Kira Municipality | FDC Spokesperson, Parliament Chief Whip |
Achievements and Awards
After the 2009 Buganda riots, Semujju gained prominence, particularly in the Buganda region, due to the opinions he expressed and the grace with which he delivered them. CBS, a station situated in Mengo, and Capital FM used to host his shows.
Semujju held several positions in Parliament, including Chief Whip of the opposition, member of the Business Committee, Chair of the Commissions, Statutory Authorities, and State Enterprises Committee, and member of the Committee on Defense and Internal Affairs.
Controversies
Before attending university, Semujju had a preference for teaching over journalism. He thus requested a change of course when he first enrolled at Makerere University, but Kiyimba Abbas, the department director at the time, declined to sign his application.
As per Ssemujju’s account, Kiyimba maintained that there were not many Muslims working in the media field, and that was why he wouldn’t let Semujju leave.
On November 1, 2019, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, who had been suspended by Speaker Kadaga, presented a proposal to the Parliament to examine the provision of cars to public officials, civil servants, and politicians.
Ssemujju argued that the government ought to stop providing cars to all other leaders, civil officers, and public servants, save for the President, Vice President, Speaker of Parliament, Deputy Speaker, Chief Justice, Leader of the Opposition and Deputy Chief Justice.
According to Ssemujju’s proposal, the government needed to auction off all of its present fleet of vehicles if the users were unable to purchase them at their current market value.
Additionally, he suggested that government loans be made available to public employees who wish to purchase the cars. He said that these loans could be repaid over time and that the funds currently spent by public officials on gas and car maintenance could be utilized to launch the loan program.
He argued that about 430 Billion shillings was spent only on replacing vehicles for public officials every five years yet the officials are already earning highly.
Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda was dismissed as the FDC Whip in Parliament in August of 2023.
Ssemjju, a detractor of Party President Patrick Amuriat Oboi’s leadership, retorted that holding the position of FDC Whip in Parliament is unimportant.
The reported reason for Ssemujju’s termination was a meeting held in Nsambya Sharing Hall with Erias Lukwago, the Vice President of the FDC for the Buganda Region.
They claimed that to further “weaken the party” in the general elections of 2021, Amuriat and Nandala Mafabi (the FDC Secretary General) had received “evil money” from the “wrong source” at the meeting.
 is a Ugandan journalist and politician. He is the Kira municipality legislator in the 11th Parliament.){kind=link}