Grass-root mobilizers in the National Unity Platform (NUP), commonly referred to as the foot soldiers, have expressed anger and frustration after the party’s National Mobilizer, Fred Nyanzi, who is also the elder brother of the party’s president, Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, unveiled his new mansion worth billions.
While celebrating his Masters Degree in Peace and Conflict Resolution from Makerere University, Nyanzi revealed his brand new mansion constructed in recent days, which has angered NUP foot soldiers who brave hardships for the party with no pay.
Like their name suggests, NUP foot soldiers are the party’s loyal lieutenants, who walk from place to place mobilising support for the party and carrying out other forms of civil disobedience in the name of ‘the struggle’ at little or no pay.
However, the foot soldiers reiterated that they feel betrayed by the party leaders, who have made them do their dirty work for no pay as Kyagulanyi and his brothers live a luxurious lifestyle at the party’s expense.
According to Ronald Mugerwa, a member of the NUP foot soldiers from Makindye, Kampala, foot soldiers have done a lot of work for the party, with only promises that they will be rewarded with time since the party doesn’t have enough money yet to pay them, but they’re dismayed after seeing their leaders living lavishly.
“They say they don’t have money to pay us; how come they can manage to build luxurious houses with the party being their only source of income that we know?” Mugerwa questioned.
Prior to the formation of the People Power Movement, which was rebranded as the NUP political party, Nyanzi, poor like his other brothers, was a mere local council chairperson in Kamwokya, with only a few chapatti stalls selling a ghetto delicacy commonly known as Kikomando.
However, after being appointed National Mobilizer for NUP by his brother Kyagulanyi, it is alleged that Nyanzi embarked on an extortion campaign, extorting hundreds of millions from politicians, starting at the local council level, to parliament, who wanted to jump on the wave and contest on the NUP ticket.
Highly placed sources reveal that there are huge sums of money coming into NUP from members’ contributions, government, and LGBTQ funding, among others, but the biggest percentage ends up in the pockets of Kyagulanyi, Nyanzi, and their brothers, leaving party activities unfunded and low-ranking members working for no pay.
Most political commentators agree that the National Unity Platform is a money-making venture for only Kyagulanyi and his brothers, and the lamentations of the foot soldiers are like the curses of a hen to an eagle.
