Will Basalirwa Reconcile the ‘Katerera’ Brothers?
The chairman of the Parliamentary Muslim Caucus, Asuman Basalirwa, last week told a shot at reconciling the Katerera MP, Mohammed Kato Katoto and his brother, former MP, Hatwib Katoto whose political rivalry has clouded their family and religious bonds.
Last Friday, the two were among the congregants for the Juma prayers at Parliament, and later testified that the day’s sermon had touched them. Sheikh Husama Samula preached about depression and how to religiously overcome its effects.
“The sermon directly touched me because some of what the Sheikh highlighted is what I am going through. Seeing your businesses crumbling and your bank balances falling from billions [of shillings] to zero can be so depressing,” said the former Katerera MP who also served as deputy Imam of the Parliamentary Muslim caucus in the 9th and 10th Parliament.
As he spoke, Hatwib avoided direct eye contact with his brother who didn’t hesitate to inform the congregation that the former deputy Imam is his younger brother.
“The two are interesting; much as they are brothers, they always compete against each other. They turned the contest for the Katerera seat into a family affair,” Basalirwa said before inviting them for talks.
“I think theirs is an issue we can solve and I want to meet them immediately after here,” Basalirwa said. His efforts were welcomed by the state Minister for Veterans Affairs, Huda Oleru, who expressed interest to be part of the talks.
“The case of those two brothers is a matter of serious concern to us and we would love to see their issues resolved,” Oleru said, adding, “I joined CEC [ Central Executive Committee of the NRM] because of Hon Hatwib Katoto. We were in State House and when the list of the CEC members was circulated, he raised his voice wondering why there wasn’t any Muslim in CEC. That’s how I got appointed.”
The former MP and his successor are blood brothers but sworn political enemies who have always challenged each other for the Katerera parliamentary seat. Hatwib Katoto has been defeating his elder brother since 2006 until the October 2020 NRM primaries when the tide changed in Kato’s favour.
Unconvinced, Hatwib went on to stand as an independent in the 2021 parliamentary elections but lost with 9,302 votes against Kato’s 12,213 votes. He challenged the election results in court but lost the petition.
Basalirwa was joined by the parliamentary Imam also Kiboga West MP, Abdul Mutumba for the conciliatory talks which lasted for about 30 minutes.
“I told them that as chairman of the Muslim Parliamentary caucus, I don’t feel good about their misunderstanding,” Basalirwa told The Friday Call but declined to delve into details of the meeting.
“What I can tell you is that there is hope for them to reconcile because the issues they brought up against each other are easy to solve,” he added.
