Jack Sabiiti

Jack Crissy Sabiiti (born 27 April 1947) is a Ugandan lecturer, public administrator and politician. He is the former Member of Parliament for Rukiga County, Kigezi sub-region and a founding member of FDC, an opposition party in Uganda. He was the first treasurer general of FDC and now serves as the party's treasurer for Kabale District.

He represented the constituents of Rukiga County in the 7th & 9th Parliaments and as a member of the constituent assembly that promulgated the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda. In the 9th Parliament, he served as the chairperson of the Committee on Public Service and Local Government and as a member of the Budget Committee whereas in the 7th Parliament, he was the vice chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee and a member of both the Budget Committee and the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Early life and education Sabiiti was born in Mparo Parish, Rwamucucu Sub-county, Kabale District on 27 April 1947 in an Anglican family of the Bakiga. He is the second of five children and a brother to the late Dr. Jimmy Kamugisha. His father, Festo Bakainaga was an agricultural extension worker and his mother, Tabitha Rwomushana, a nurse. His paternal grandfather, Sirasi Kikooko, was a Gombolola chief and his maternal grandfather, Tomasi Rwomushana, a Saza chief.

He received his primary education in his home district of Kabale at Kihanga Primary School and Nyakisoroza Primary School where he was a prefect and once led a demonstration against a teacher of arithmetic who apparently "was not up to the job". He attained his PLE certification in 1961 and then joined Kigezi High School where he first met Bank of Uganda governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile and attained a Junior Secondary School Certificate in 1963.

In 1964, he joined Old Kampala Senior Secondary School for his senior school education, attaining a UCE certification in 1967 and a UACE certification in 1969. At the public high school, he was a student leader, the chairperson of the school debating society and a member of the drama club.

Sabiiti further advanced to Makerere University where he had a failed bid at the guild presidency and graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political science and Public administration. In 1977, he joined Dalhousie University on a scholarship and attained a Master of Public Administration in 1978. At the Canadian institution, he was a member of International Students Committee. In 2005, as the vice chairperson of PAC, he initiated a bill that led to the independence of the Office of the Auditor General from the executive.

On losing his reelection bid in the 2006 general elections, Sabiiti was hired as a consultant for International Republican Institute (IRI) in 2007. Between 2008 and 2010, he worked as a full-time lecturer of political economy at Kampala International University (KIU).

In 2011, he rejoined parliament still as a representative for the constituents of Rukiga County. In the 9th Parliament, he served as the chairperson of the Local Government Accounts Committee, a member of the Finance & Budget Committee and as the Shadow Minister of Public Service.

In 2016, he lost in his reelection bid to Herbert Kabafunzaki and now works as a full-time lecturer at Kampala international University and among other assignments, serves as the current FDC treasurer for Kabale District.

Personal details Jack Sabiiti is married to Stella Mystica Sabiiti and they have four children: Ritah Asiimwe Sabiiti, Moses Rwomushana Sabiiti, Jason Ntaro Sabiiti and Tabitha Kentaro Sabiiti. He is the patron of Old Kampala Students Association and also serves on the National Water Board. He is close friends with Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda, Gen. Moses Ali and Professor Tumusiime Mutebire.