Phillip Wafula Ogutu

Phillip Wafula Oguttu (born 21 December 1952) is a Ugandan journalist and politician. He is a former Leader of Opposition in the Ugandan Parliament. He was appointed to that position on 31 January 2014, replacing Nandala Mafabi, and held it until June 2016 when he handed over the position to Winnie Kiiza.

Oguttu was formerly the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bukhooli County Central, a constituency in Bugiri District, Busoga Sub-region, Eastern Region of Uganda, He is a member of Uganda's opposition party Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) for which he was the spokesperson.

Oguttu is also one of the co-founders of the Daily Monitor, a privately owned English-language daily newspaper in Uganda.

Background Oguttu was born in Buhehe sub-county, Busia District, to Wafula Olago, a veteran of World War II, and Lucia Aguttu. At the time of Oguttu’s birth, his father was working for a borehole-drilling company in Butaleja. A Samia by tribe, Wafula was raised in Mbajja Village, Lumino Sub-county, in present-day Busia District. The administrative area at that time was known as Bukedi District and included present-day Busia District, Tororo District, Pallisa District, Butaleja District, and Kibuku District. His name "Oguttu" in the Samia culture is given to someone born on the veranda or in the garden behind a house.

Wafula grew up with five sisters and three brothers. In 1974, he received a Diploma in Chinese Language from the Beijing Language Institute. He was an editor for a Tanzania publishing house In the 2011 general election he stood for the same seat, defeating NRM flagbearer Hajji Siraji Lyavala (who had defeated Mukisa in the NRM primary He also sat on the following parliamentary committees: Appointments Committee Business Committee Committee on Information and Communication Technology

Personal life

Oguttu is currently married to Alice Oguttu with five sons and two daughters. He however had a second wife, Freda, who died in July 2012 with whom he fathered two sons. He is of the Roman Catholic faith.

Oguttu has supported farmers in Bugiri District on numerous occasions. At one time, he donated 30,000 coffee seedlings to farmers in his constituency to enhance household income, but put a condition that it was only "people with toilets" to benefit.