OLEMWA! Ugandan MP’s Broken English Shocks Nation

Masaka District Woman MP Joan Namutaawe is currently in the news for two reasons: her broken English which almost broke Uganda’s record as well her complaint over lack of teachers in a seed school in her constituency. 

In what passed for a bad maiden speech on the floor of Parliament, Namutaawe left her colleagues in the House in stitches after she struggled to present her ‘matter of national importance.’

Reading from a piece of paper on which she had noted her issued concerning the lack of teachers at the newly opened Bukakata Seed School in Masaka District, Namutaawe stammered and stumbled throughout her presentation, uneasily murdering words written for her in the Queen’s language.

Deputy Speaker Thomas Tayebwa (Ruhinda North – NRM), who was presiding over the July 13 session, kept on encouraging Namutaawe as fellow legislators laughed at the way she was struggling with words.

By the time she finished her submission, it was so clear what Namutaawe was complaining about. Tayebwa summarized it as relating to the lack of teachers in a seed school in Masaka where government had only deployed a head teacher and a deputy head teacher.

According to Namutaawe, the school was relying on volunteers who were paid peanuts. She was worried that the students in the school would not perform well in national exams since they do not have qualified teachers to facilitate their learning.

“I requested the Ministry of Education and Sports, and Ministry of Public Service to follow up on their mandate to recruit teachers and ensure delivery of quality education services to the children. The community also kindly requests Ministry of Public Service to appreciate the volunteer teaching assistants that have taught at the school with some allowance. They can also be considered for formal recruitment as public civil servants,” said Namutaawe in a statement after her submission in the House.

“This problem of lack of teachers is also present for newly opened seed schools in other parts of the country. The lack of teachers in government-owned Bukakata Seed School is an issue that deserves urgent attention from the Ministry of Education and Sports, and Ministry of Public Service. This is why I have further challenged the Minister to inform the public about the specific time when teachers will become available to teach. Besides Bukakata Seed School in Masaka district , the new Seed Secondary Schools in other parts of the country also lack teachers.”

Namutaawe’s submission in shockingly broken English comes a few days after another MP shocked his colleagues after he demanded that a fellow legislator be severely punished for using complicated English with an American accent. (Read Story and Watch Video Here).

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