Robert Kyagulanyi, National Unity Platform Party President, also known as Bobi Wine, in the company of his wife Barbra Itungo Kyagulunyi, travelled to the USA aboard KLM on Tuesday, October 16, 2023, to meet Senator Robert Menedenz.
Senator Menendez, who is facing charges of corruption and embezzlement, has been a major financial backer of the NUP party. It is believed that Bobi Wine, among other things, has traveled to show unwavering support for Senator Menendez to safeguard one of the party’s main sources of funding.
However, many party supporters are unhappy with Bobi Wine’s frequent trips abroad. They argue that these trips do not benefit the party and are merely self-enrichment adventures. Some individuals close to the NUP leadership accuse Bobi Wine of using donations from these trips for personal satisfaction. They also claim that the principal often uses these trips as opportunities for personal vacations with family and close friends.
According to Michael Mabike, former Makindye West MP, Bobi Wine is one of the most highly paid opposition leaders, earning UGX 150 million per month off IPOD money and another UGX 500 million from Diaspora donations.
“Bobi Wine benefits greatly from politics; in fact, he gains a lot from these foreign trips. He is off to the USA to solicit for more funds and traveled with his wife, spending donations received from his previous trips to Canada and South Africa,’ Mabike said.
Mabike further states that each time he travels, he takes along his wife or children for a vacation using party finances, which would go towards the party’s development and growth county-wide.
“Bobi Wine and his close family members are the greatest beneficiaries of these trips, not the common man; they have all erected very big and expensive mansions without steady jobs and incomes. Bobi Wine begs in the name of the struggle with intentions of removing the NRM government while enriching his siblings; it’s not a secret; if one doubts me, do your own investigations,” said Mabike.
However, Patrick Wakida, a lecturer and political analyst, said that money spent on foreign trips and the fat salary earned by Bobi Wine are enough to popularise NUP on the grassroot level.
“Unfortunately, that does not seem to be part of the NUP’s agenda; for example, the LC1 elections are around the corner,” said Wakida.
Wakida further states that, for anyone interested in leading the country, this would be the time to work on party structures; opening offices upcountry requires funding and involvement in LC1 elections; however, Bobi Wine would rather be visiting a criminal and soliciting more funds for personal gain than concentrating on LC1 elections.
According to Wakida, Senate Menedenz is one of the key founders of Bobi Wine, who is facing charges of corruption, embezzlement, and funding African opposition leaders to cause anarchy in their countries while stealing from the conflicting countries their natural resources like gold and oil, among others.
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