The duty of the Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LOP) of Uganda is to appoint and head the shadow cabinet tasked with challenging and influencing government actions and legislation on the floor of parliament.
However, the appointment of Joel Ssenyonyi as LOP changed the constitutional meaning of the Leader of Opposition. Ssenyonyi acts as he wishes, as long as what he does pleases his principal, Bobi Wine, the president of NUP.
For his entire time in office, he has been preoccupied with personal attacks against his predecessor, Mathias Mpuuga, who had personal issues with Bobi Wine. Several meetings and press conferences have been convened, but nothing has been discussed apart from Mathias Mpuuga.
The actions and behavior of the current LOP leave a lot to be desired when compared to the previous politicians who have held the same position before. LOPs like Betty Aol Ochan, Winnie Kizza, Ogenga Latigo, and others were focused leaders well intentioned to check the actions of the government.
On the contrary, Ssenyonyi has confused many, including NUP supporters, who wonder if he is in office to serve the interests of his principal or Ugandans. He has portrayed a picture in which he serves Bobi Wine’s interests, regardless of the fact that the LOP office is supposed to encompass all other opposition parties.
The NUP wave brought low-quality legislators to Parliament, something that has rendered Parliament a useless house with poor legislation and clueless members. The members led by Ssenyonyi do nothing apart from fighting personal wars and wasting taxpayers’ money as they play to the gallery with their populist actions.
Joel’s predecessor concentrated on matters of national importance and had no time for cheap politics or fighting personal wars in his office. Ssenyonyi has proved to be the opposite of his predecessor as well as other former Leaders of Opposition in the Parliament of Uganda.
Apparently, NUP has turned out to be the worst opposition Ugandans have ever seen, and people who voted for them have started losing trust. It is almost too late for the current LOP to change their ways since they are novices who hate whoever advises them, fight whoever is experienced, and look at them as threats to their positions.
The NUP has ideally turned into a group of clueless politicians who accidentally found themselves because of the 2021 wave, and all they think about is fighting for positions in their party and parliament. Ssenyonyi is definitely doing a disservice to the opposition, and this will definitely have a negative effect on the party in the 2021 elections.
