The leader of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Robert Kyagulanyi, hasn’t had any luck with the people he appoints as Leader of Opposition (LOP) in parliament, as they have all turned out to outshine and go against him despite being their elevator.
Having previously fallen out with Mathias Mpuuga, whom he appointed LOP and served in the position from 2021 to 2023, the same fate is imminent for his successor, Joel Ssenyonyi, after the UK Parliament suggested him as a more viable presidential candidate for them to support in order to cause regime change in Uganda.
Speaking during a parliamentary session in the UK on May 8, 2024, Henry Campbell Bellingham, a British Conservative politician who sits in the House of Lords, commended Joel Ssenyonyi for being an able leader with a great record of defending human rights and said that the UK government should be considering him instead of his party president Robert Kyagulanyi, who failed to deliver regime change in 2021.
“To ensure that there is multiparty democracy and regime change in Uganda, the new Leader of Opposition, Joel Ssenyonyi, is an outstanding, brave young politician who deserves our support,” Bellingham submitted.
Bellingham’s words did not sit well with Robert Kyagulanyi, who is always wary of people within the NUP threatening his dominance over the party. This is the same kind of insecurity that led to his bitter fallout with Mpuuga after several people in NUP and public opinion started favouring Mpuuga to take on the mantel of the party, given his experience and academic background, which are by far superior to Kyagulanyi’s.
Those close to Kyagulanyi and Ssenyonyi have started spreading word that Kyagulanyi is now highly suspicious of his leader of opposition, and a rift between the two leaders is inevitable if the words of Bellingham get to his head.
Unlike Mpuuga, who was against homosexuality, Ssenyonyi is recognised as an advocate of their rights, as evidenced by his absence on the day of voting on the anti-homosexuality bill. His fallout could sway away Kyagulanyi’s gay funders, and this could be a huge blow to Kyagulanyi’s financial muscle.
It won’t be a surprise if we start seeing NUP foot soldiers attacking Ssenyonyi on social media, labelling him a mole to discredit his legitimacy.
