The body that brings together professional Engineers in Uganda have accused Sheema Municipality MP aspirant, Raymond Akankwatsa Kamugisha of masquerading as an Engineer which they say goes against the law.
The Engineers Registration Board, a statutory body that regulates and controls engineers and their profession in Uganda has issued a complaint to the Chairman of the NRM Electoral Commission over Kamugisha’s purported profession as an ‘engineer’.
“The Board earlier through its letter brought this breach to your attention. We have again been informed that Mr Raymond Akankwasa Kamugisha is still masquerading as an Engineer and using the title of Engineer (an the prefix of ‘Eng’) on his campaigning materials yet he is not registered by the Engineers Registration Board,” a letter addressed to the NRM Electoral Commission Chairman reads in part.
The May 14 letter which is written by Eng Ronald Namugera the Registrar of the Engineers Registration Board further states that “any person who not being a registered engineer falsely prebtends to be such commits an offence and us liable on conviction to a fine”.
Section 29 of the Engineers Registration Act of 1969 provides restrictions on the use of the title Engineer and the prefix ‘Eng’.
“The purpose of this communication is therefore to bring the above breach of the law to your attention and request you to direct Mr Raymond Kamugisha to stop masquerading as an Engineer and using Eng thereby misleading the public,” the letter adds.
But Kamugisha denies having printed any campaigning material on which he refers to himself as an Engineer. He instead says it is a plot by his political opponents to sabotage him.
“Being a political tense time, these are political manoeuvres. They are trying to do a media stunt,” he told SoftPower News in an interview, denying that any of his campaign posters indicates the title Engineer. On the contrary, this website has come across more than one election posters on his Facebook account containing the prefix ‘Eng’ against his name.
He said that none of the posters pinned in Sheema municipality indicates that he is an Engineer.
The aspiring MP was unwilling to disclose details regarding his education background. “I don’t want to discuss that”.
But he admitted that he has not considered registering with the Engineers Registration Board despite the fact that he runs a Construction company. He says that nothing necessitates that he registers since most of the technical work is headed by other persons.
“For the fact, I am not legally registered with the Board. I am practicing other things so engineering isn’t my main thing I do today. There are other things I am engaged in,” he said.