Like a famous African proverb “What will kill a dog first blocks its nose” goes, this is what seems to be happening at the Kamwokya based National Unity Platform-NUP circle.
The Kikankane ghetto youth who acted as foot soldiers in guarding NUPS elections have crossed to the NRM due to the atrocities and lies being peddled in the party. The group which once intended to block the Presidents’ Swearing in have now sworn alliagence to him.
Information from the NUPs youth groups indicates that even other scattered groups are looking for legitimate ways of joining NRM in a recognizable way. They claim that the deceit, corruption and nepotism in the party left them no option other than to realise that NUP is a money making scam for a chosen few.
Following these developments, I would like to detail the journey to the grave that NUP has embarked on by using illicit methods to garner for support a thing that will see the party crumble and fall in scatters as its youth base is crossing over to the NRM.
In October 2021 when Robert Kyagulanyi, the then National Unity Platform presidential candidate was launching his campaign, he pledged to restore Uganda’s glory and escalate regional development which according to him has suffered miserably under the regime for many years.
But a few months later, the Independent Electoral Commission declared him the loser of the January 14th, 2021 election following a mega political defeat by President Yoweri Museveni who garnered a bigger percentage of votes compared to Kyagulanyi’s paltry figure.
In the final results, Museveni won the election with 6,042898 votes representing 58.38% of the vote, while his closest challenger Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu aka Bobi Wine garnered 3,631,437 votes representing 35.08%.
Patrick Amuriat Oboi of Forum for Democratic (FDC) got 337,589 votes representing 3.26% of the valid votes cast, Joseph Kabuleta got 45,424 votes representing 0.44%, Nancy Kalembe Linda got 38,772 votes representing 0.37%, John Katumba got 37,554 votes representing 0.36%, Nobert Mao got 57,682 votes representing. 0.56%.
Willy Mayambala garnered 15,041 votes representing 0.15% of the valid votes cast, Mugisha Muntu Gregg got 67,574 votes representing 0.65%, Fred Mwesigye garnered 25,483 votes representing 0.25% while Henry Tumukunde got 51,392 votes representing 0.50%.
Nearly a year later when President was declared and sworn in for his fifth term in office, NUP unlike other opposition political parties has remained focused on the agenda of the National Resistance Movement party instead of laboring to fix what they were defeated.
NUP has continued to focus on promoting the politics of tribalism and sectarianism as if they will only be leading a specific tribe forgetting that Uganda has multiple tribal origins.
It should be noted that NRM is however credited and still firm on fighting tribalism which was the prominent cause of instability in the country during the previous regimes of late Dr. Apollo Milton Obote and Idi Amin.
To date, NUP has aggressively repositioned itself on brewing more fights and disputes against other political parties instead of promoting political cohesion and team building that can establish strong support.
This was witnessed late last year when NUP openly rejected a proposal to join mobilization for the “People’s Front for Transformation” Front, a political pressure group formed by the FDC leader Dr. Kizza Besigye.
Without presenting any valid reasons as to why NUP hesitated to back Bresigye’s new group, Kyagulanyi and his team ignored his repeated call for support, a move that has been critically undermined by many political players.
It has also remained prominently clear that NUP has no interest in teaming up with any other opposition party in the struggle to champion democratic approaches in Uganda.
Whereas other opposition parties including DP, UPC, JEEMA, etc, have remained open and currently teaming with the NRM party under IPOD to champion democracy and good governance in Uganda, NUP has remained unlimitedly wild against the regime.
Early this week, President Museveni urged opposition political parties to rest their political differences and take lead in the promotion of peace and stability in the country.
“I met the Secretaries-General of the member political parties under the Interparty Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) at State House Entebbe. I issued a clarion call to parties to rest their political differences and take lead in the promotion of peace and stability in the country,” President said.
President further expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which some political parties don’t want to cooperate under IPOD.
“This is the only forum for every political party to sort out issues and should bring together all the parties represented in the parliament. However, others do not want to cooperate, I think such parties should not qualify for government funding under the IPOD arrangement. There should be a law somewhere,” He noted.
Currently, Kyagulanyi, his wife Barbie Kyagulanyi, and his brother Musician Nubian Lee are in Europe upon the invitation of a group working to oust the current regime and destabilize Uganda.
It is said, Bobi wine as the leader of NUP was invited to go with a team of his party leaders but instead opted to go with his wife and brother, a move said to have silently angered NUP leadership in Kampala.
While other parties have since embarked on the countryside mobilization to escalate their structures, NUP has instead capitalized on struggling to blackmail Uganda on the international scene with the assistance of those believed to be imperialists from the west.
In January 2022, the FDC Secretary General Nandala Mafabi said NUP used to accuse them of not working so hard for regime change.
Mafabi however wondered what the party has so far done and according him to him, it’s nothing.
“We have given NUP space to work because they thought we were doing nothing. What is Kyagulanyi doing? What are his people doing?
FDC) stalwart Mubarak Munyagwa who is a former MP for Kawempe South and a former contestant for FDC presidency claimed that NUP has lost direction and therefore lacks the capacity to remove the NRM government from power.
“Some have already bought houses in the US. They are heavily funded by the regime. It’s a pity,” Munyagwa alleged.
DP President, Nobert Mao recently said their doors are open to talking with the region for the good of Uganda. This followed a positive comment from the first son also UPDF Commander Land force who described Mao as the only principled and open-minded opposition leader in Uganda.
Mao also went ahead to attack LOP Mpuuga for boycotting parliament over torture and matters of human rights saying during their time, any MP who never worked was never paid.
“The issue of torture, kidnaps and illegal detentions is serious and demand serious measures but this uncoordinated movement of troops does nobody any good. In our days in parliament if you didn’t attend parliament you were not paid. No work, no pay! No work no perks!,”Mao said.
A few days ago, while appearing on the NBS morning breeze talk show, the Government Chief Whip Thomas Tayebwa described Kyagulanyi as a selfish leader who only cares about his own interest and his relatives at the expense of NUP.
“When the European Parliament asked NUP to go and present on the issue of torture and Kyagulanyi took his wife and brother with him. We have a Leader of Opposition and many capable leaders who would have accompanied him there. Like I said, I pity Leader of Opposition, Mathias Mpuuga,” He said.
On Thursday, a group of about 91 youths who were formerly NUP stalwarts and radical coordinators in charge of mobilizing for various protests around Kampala met President Museveni at State House Entebbe after successfully completing their mindset change training at the Institute of Security and Strategic study in Entebbe.
The youths were arrested during the November 11th riot and other protests staged by NUP during and after the 2021 elections but they were later pardoned and taken for orientation to have their minds changed from radical politics to learning progressive NRM ideologies.
They were trained in understanding the NRM pillars of Patriotism, Pan Africanism, Socio-Economic Transformation and Democracy, and how to embrace politics of development against violence by the Internal Security Organization.
while being presented before President Museveni by the ISO DG Col. Charles Oluka and his entourage who included his Deputy Lt Col Emmanuel Katabazi according to state house release, the group confessed how they were engaged by NUP to cause relentless violence.
The group also pledged to embark on grassroots mobilization to dismantle NUP’s political ideologies that have misled several youths and others around the country.
“I met a group of youths, formerly supporters of the National Unity Platform at State House Entebbe. I took them through an NRM ideological lecture and disabused them of violence and destruction. If we work and there is looting and riots, how shall we develop?” President asked.
President told the group that, NRM from the onset has been emphasizing the prosperity of all Ugandans without segregation or destruction.
It should also be recalled that a total of 100 NUP youth coordinators from Wakiso had previously been trained in mindset change and currently mobilizing for the ruling NRM party.
