National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has expressed deep frustration over internal challenges that stemmed from his fallout with his deputy for the Buganda region, Mathias Mpuuga that hindered the party’s progress.
In his end-of-year address held on December 30, 2024, at his residence in Magere, Kyagulanyi put all the blame for NUP shortcomings in 2024 on Mathias Mpuuga, whom he accused of frustrating the party’s mobilization structures, creating internal division, and tainting the party’s image with corruption.
Bobi Wine revealed that the party’s Kunga Campaign, a key initiative designed to mobilize and organize support at the grassroots level, was banned by Mpuuga for his own heinous reasons, decapitating the party’s ability to gain ground support.
“Our inability to establish grassroots structures has significantly impacted our mission,” Kyagulanyi lamented, adding: “This setback can be traced back to when our defunct deputy deliberately stopped the Kunga Campaign, a cornerstone of our outreach strategy.”
Kyagulanyi added that, “We’re now barely ending the year with no support on the ground because of one man’s selfish motives. Additionally, his corruption scandal has also deterred people from joining NUP”.
He reechoed accusations of Mpuuga’s unethical financial practices, which were the bedrock of NUP’s split after Mpuuga refused to resign from the parliamentary commissioner post for swindling Shs500 million, which was reportedly labeled as a “service award”.
“We were disappointed to learn that he had sat together with other parliamentary commissioners and awarded himself Shs500 million, which they claimed was the retirement benefit. This was a betrayal of the trust placed in him by the party and the Ugandan people,” Kyagulanyi said.
There is a general feel in the populace that Bobi Wine’s remarks signify that the opposition is entering the campaigning year deeply divided, minimizing their chances of creating any change in the country’s leadership.
Political analysts have also expressed pessimism about NUP’s prospects ahead of the 2026 general elections. They point to the party’s internal divisions, loss of grassroots momentum, and the lingering shadow of corruption scandals as significant hurdles that have weakened its ability to mount an effective challenge to the ruling government.
With trust eroded and organizational structures faltering, NUP faces an uphill battle to regain its footing and inspire confidence among its supporters.
