On the morning of Monday, November 18, 2024, chaos erupted at the National Unity Platform (NUP) headquarters in Makerere Kavule after foot soldiers were summoned to explain the disappearance of money collected as offertory, which went missing after a memorial service for NUP supporters who died during the November 2021 election campaigns.
The NUP head of security Achileo Kivumbi who called for an urgent meeting on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, said that four offertory baskets with all the money disappeared after the Mulago Catholic Parish priest asked the NUP foot soldiers dressed in red overalls to help carry the offertory and other items such as chicken, Matooke, sugar and rice to the double cabin pick up for the priest that was parked at the headquarter premises.
“I don’t know exactly how much it was but I was informed that the offertory baskets were not in the car for the priest and as I asked him the person he had asked to carry the gifts and offertory, he said some of the boys wearing red overalls offered to help, we had over 60 of them in overall yesterday so it’s hard to tell who exactly they were,” Achileo noted.
Flavia Nabagabe Kalule the woman MP for Kassanda who was also one of the mobilizers and usher for the mass said that it’s unfortunate that one of them took off with the church offertory and set a bad name for the party.
“As a NUP party MP and one who was active in making sure we had that commemoration mass I feel so embarrassed and ashamed that our very own foot soldiers did this, it is embarrassing for the party because we still had a good working relationship with the community churches and we hope the security team identifies him or them and takes disciplinary action,” Kalule said.
This is not the first incident that has happened at the NUP party headquarters, last year in June 2023, a similar incident happened when NUP foot soldiers broke into the vehicle of one NUP supporter who had gone for a formal visit at the party offices in Kamwokya and stole seven million Uganda shillings, a laptop, and two mobile phones a case that was reported at Kiira road police station.
Since 2021, the NUP has held annual memorial services every November 18 to honor their fallen comrades who died before and after the 2021 presidential elections. The latest incident only intensifies scrutiny on the party as it grapples with maintaining its integrity amidst internal challenges.
