The National Unity Platform (NUP) party’s Deputy Spokesperson, Waiswa Mufumbiro, has said that kingdoms are useless and not necessary in Uganda, and they should be abolished.
According to Mufumbiro, NUP will not hesitate to abolish kingdoms once it comes into power stating that NUP is capable of leading an uprising of the people against some of the perceived powerful kingdoms in Uganda.
Mufumbiro stated this while being interviewed on Pearl FM radio station about allegations from Buganda Kingdom that the NUP is sponsoring social media influencers to harass the Kabaka.
Mufumbiro, rather than deny the accusations, challenged listeners to mention one good thing cultural institutions have done for the country.
According to Mufumbiro, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government has made these kingdoms and their kings believe that they are important people in society who should be worshiped and appreciated, which he contends.
“I cannot understand why these kingdoms believe and behave like they are so important to the country; they are being used by Museveni as political cards, and we shall do away with them when we get into power. It will not be the first time they will be abolished; in 1966, they were abolished, didn’t Uganda go on, and did it die without useless kings, like those we have now,” Mufumbiro said.
His statements come in the wake of the Buganda Kingdom accusing the NUP leadership of paying social media influencers to harass Kabaka and kingdom officials on those platforms. In an article published on May 9,2024, Katikiro Mayiga, while speaking to journalists, said that the Kingdom knows the people behind those attacks on the Kabaka and the kingdom officials.
Political commentators state that Mufumbiro’s statements are a clear indication that the NUP is not about to stop attacking the cultural institutions, since, according to the NUP, they are useless and not necessary for the country’s development.
However, citizens who had tuned in to listen to Mufumbiro believe these attacks are a result of the cultural institutions not aligning with the NUP in their homosexuality endeavours and joining it to fight the ruling government.
“NUP will waste no time in attacking and harassing anyone who does not support them; they attacked the Kabaka, Kingdom officials, paid someone to fail the royal wedding of Busoga, and fell out with the religious leaders for not supporting their gay communities. At this rate, I don’t know who is left whom they have not attacked,” complained one listener.
NUP has, on several occasions, clashed with Buganda Kingdom with several of their influencers hired to harrass the Kabaka, among other officials.
On April 17, 2024, NUP influencer Fred Kajjubi Lumbuye, based in Turkey, claimed on his YouTube channel that the Kabaka would not live to see his 70th birthday, which sparked online outrage from citizens.
