Why Matembe took a Christian award, turning down the jubilee medal

Born 28 August 1953, former ethics and integrity minister Dr Miria Rukoza Koburunga Matembe was honored with the prestigious HIT Charismatic Leader Honorary Award at the HIT Awards 2016 grand ceremony that took place in July at Serena Hotel Kampala.

The out spoken girl child and Women’s rights activist accepted the award, accompanied by her husband Mr Nekemia Matembe, their four sons and grand children.

“I stand here with Joy for what the lord has done. when you are busy serving God some where, when you least expect it, he shows up. I want to praise the Lord so much,” she remarked.

Dr Miria further appreciated the HIT Awards Academy for recognizing her efforts.

Government released a statement announcing plans to recognise Members of Parliament who have served in the different legislatures from the time Uganda got her independence to 9th October 2012.

Reports from organizers say that close to 300 people of the listed 1,200 former MPs who served as legislators between 1962 and 2012 did not pick their medals when the ceremony took place on Monday.

Among these was Dr Miria Matembe. One would wonder why she rejected her Golden jubilee medal.

Flashback; during her speech at the HIT Awards, Matembe expressed her discontentment towards the committee charged with nominating awardees for what she referred to as “Museveni’s medals.”

“I was afraid in the first case to leave the political office. I thought that by so doing, I would disappear into oblivion…It is not until I left that I got to understand why those people in parliament don’t want to leave power….Positions and possessions do not give us life, we should use these positions and possessions to serve God’s people,” Dr Miria Matembe further stated in part.

Kicked out of parliament before time? Matembe said that her commitment to audibly speak out against injustice in the country got her “sacked out of cabinet.”

This statement was made on 18th June, 2016, as she spoke at the launch of a report on human rights violations during the 2016 elections in Kampala. Matembe accused the NRM government of continuous violation of human rights, especially against the opposition.

“We have been subdued to become complacent, to become nothing when things are not going well. And I tell people, no! Lets us resist. Didn’t they bring the word resistance? Is resistance a monopoly of President Museveni and his people only? Resistance is a word, which we can all use,”

What does the press report? She says she doesn’t need medals, “pieces of metal as she refers to them” from parliament since it’s not beneficial to her. She says the appreciation for any former worker should be pension, which she has never seen.

Matembe claims that the executive maliciously denied members of the 6th and 7th Parliament their pension, and so they should not accept these awards after being so deprived.