The National Unity Platform (NUP) Secretary General David Rubongoya has revealed that the party is facing financial constraints and is unable to provide support to the extended family of their late member Muhammad Ssegirinya.
Ssegirinya passed away on January 9, 2025, after a long sickness spell, leaving behind at least eight children alongside three widows with little or no care.
In an interview with a local radio station on Monday, January 20, 2025, Rubongoya elaborated that the NUP has encountered difficulties in securing funds, primarily due to a significant decline in monthly remittances from the party’s Members of Parliament (MPs), who, according to Rubongoya, have diverted the money into ground mobilization in their constituencies ahead of the 2026 elections.
He also pointed out that NUP’s key foreign funder, US Senator Bob Menendez, was recently convicted on corruption charges, further complicating the party’s financial landscape.
“The reality is that we don’t have sufficient money to take care of Ssegirinya’s family at this time. We have lost a critical source of financial support, and many of our MPs are no longer contributing as they once did,” Rubongoya explained. He expressed the party’s deep regret over the loss of Ssegirinya and acknowledged the burden placed on his family during this difficult time.
Acknowledging the urgent need for assistance, Rubongoya called on individuals and organizations willing to help Ssegirinya’s family to reach out to NUP’s welfare office. “We appeal to those who are able and willing to support his family in any way to contact us directly. Every contribution will help during this challenging period for Ssegirinya’s loved ones,” he stated.
Rubongoya was responding to Ssegirinya’s mother, Nakajumba Justine Sanyu, who has been crying out that the deceased’s political party has neither provided financial aid nor strategy for her grandchildren.
Nakajumba maintains that she has not received any money, and she is currently stuck with no plan on how to take care of the children who are currently under her care or even pay for their school fees.
Critics have lashed out at NUP leadership for neglecting their comrades’ families whenever they pass away, yet party leaders continue to live lavishly.
“Even with the cries for financial aid from Ssegirinya’s mother, Bobi Wine went on a luxurious trip to Dubai, taking along comedian Kapere, who has contributed nothing to the struggle, leaving the kids of a man (Ssegirinya) who sacrificed everything for the party to starve,” said Nampeera Stella, a children’s rights activist.
