The National Unity Platform (NUP), led by Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, is threatened by a split as some members who defected from the Democratic Party have cast their support for Mathias Mpuuga as NUP party president.
According to sources, this rift has been brewing over time between the presumed original NUP-Kamwokya team and the NUP-DP block members. Sources state that the Kamwokya team cast doubts on the DP block, claiming that they were not actively participating in their defiance politics, whereas the DP group under Mathais Mpuuga says it does not support and believe in those kinds of politics.
The sources claim that it is on these grounds that the Kamwokya team started pushing for Mpuuga’s removal as the leader of opposition through the Kunga group, which started the narrative that he is a government mole, that he was not aggressive enough as the LoP, and that he had failed the party by playing politics of diplomacy.
“As you may all recall, this NUP-Kunga group always attacked Mpuuga on social media, calling for his removal as LoP, and the attacks intensified after Mpuuga supported the anti-homosexuality bill, his fact-finding tour across the country on service delivery, and the DP block’s refusal to join the One Million Match to welcome back Bobi Wine from South Africa,” the source said.
Mpuuga was eventually removed and replaced with Joel Ssenyonyi, who, according to the sources, is presumed to be NUP-Kamwokya-leaning and believes in politics of defiance more than his predecessor.
Sources state that the Kunga team was not satisfied with simply unseating Mpuuga as LOP. As a result, they moved the war to Mpuuga’s backyard in Nyendo-Masaka and resumed their attacks, this time siding with Florence Namayanja, the Masaka city mayor, who has been tasked by the Kamwokya team with unseating Mpuuga as area MP in 2026 and is willing to lead the Kunga demonstrations.
Mpuuga, in order to keep his seat, halted the Kunga activities in Masaka, stating that they were the source of splits in Masaka, undermining elected officials.
Mpuuga’s refusal to support Kunga demonstrations prompted NUP-Kamwokya-leaning social media users to insult him.
Medard Lubega Ssegona, Member of Parliament for Busiro East County and also a member of the NUP-DP block, said that he was disappointed that a man of Mpuuga’s calibre, who is respected by both the old opposition parties and government leaders, could be torn apart on social media in that kind of manner.
“We think that he should be applauded for his services as LoP and not treated like newbies in politics who actually can’t measure up to his standards. We know all this was done to undermine his popularity, which was advancing within the opposition and government, and once someone becomes a threat to you, some people use underhanded methods to trim such a person’s wings, and unfortunately, that’s what my brother Bobi Wine did,” said Ssegona.
“We have all witnessed my brother Mpuuga’s capabilities; those who think he is out and finished should wait for his next move, and we promise to stand by his decision because we believe in him and what he can accomplish having demonstrated it to us as LoP,” he added.
Ssegona stated that NUP learned nothing from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Party, and they are actually following in the footsteps of FDC by reading from the same script of politics of defiance, whereas Mpuuga intends to continue with politics of diplomacy, away from blackmail and propaganda politics.
The NUP-DP bloc has threatened to withdraw from NUP-Kamwokya, declaring that it will support Mpuuga for NUP president and a run in the 2026 presidential elections.
