Following the National Unity Platform’s (NUP) firing of Mathias Mpuuga from the Parliamentary Commissioner post after an ongoing social media hashtag dubbed Uganda Parliament Exhibition exposed him for benefiting from ‘service awards’ amounting to Ugx 500 million, a section of NUP members have argued that their party president, Robert Kyagulanyi, has no moral authority to fire Mpuuga since he has also been swindling the party’s funds.
The aggrieved party members highlighted that their party gets Ugx 5 million from each Member of Parliament per month, millions of dollars from foreign donors, monthly contributions from councilors and other leaders, among other sources; however, all that money is embezzled by Robert Kyagulanyi.
They cited the case of the party headquarters in Makerere Kavule, whereby the plan was to build a megacomplex, but Kyagulanyi swindled nearly three-quarters of the money that was budgeted for the building and ended up unveiling a ‘manyatta-like structure.
They further highlighted the lack of funding for NUP ‘foot soldiers’ and pointed out that they only see party funds being used by Kyagulanyi for luxurious trips across the world and his unemployed brothers to construct multibillion-shilling mansions in Kampala.
However, some political analysts have argued that the issue isn’t about money but rather political revenge on Mpuuga, whom Kyagulanyi fears poses a threat to his party’s presidency and presidential ambitions.
Daudi Kabanda MP Kasambya county questioned Kyagulanyi about why he only regards the money paid officially to Mpuuga by the Parliamentary Commission as a bribe, thus an act of corruption, yet other NUP MPs earn allowances approved by the same Parliamentary Commission from time to time.
Nonetheless, political enthusiasts await Mpuuga’s next move after his dismissal, worsening the ongoing rift in the NUP between the DP bloc and the ‘people power’ factions, with the former backing Mpuuga and the latter backing Kyagulanyi and his brothers.