Talleyrand said, “They learned nothing and forgot nothing,” While speaking about the restored Bourbon Monarchy after the abdication of Napoleon in France.
The National Unity Platform (NUP), has learned nothing and forgotten nothing from the collapse of fellow Opposition parties like DP, UPC and FDC.
While Forum Democratic Change (FDC) was being formed in 2005, its founder’s main objective they said, was to take back Uganda to “a democratic path” and the only way that could happen was by quickly bringing to an end President Museveni’s hold on power.
17 years down the road one would wonder what happened to the most vibrant and leading opposition party in Uganda which many of its founders were former colleagues of President Museveni.
These were hunger driven people who had no organisational capabilities to mount pressure on the already established National Resistance Movement.
The formation of Alliance for National Transformation in 2019 by the former FDC President Mugisha Muntu was the final blow to the already sinking ship of FDC.
The 2021 January elections clearly indicated to the world that FDC founder members were driven by greed that they would capture power in the early years of their formation and hence lacked a long term organisation strategy.
The country’s oldest political party Democratic Party (DP) has 9 parliamentarians, Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) has 10 parliamentarians compared to NRM’s 316 parliamentarians.
One would wonder why FDC didn’t learn from these old political parties and unfortunately NUP is taking the same road.
After the emergency of Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) as the main opposition figure, NUP came up with many slogans like “Bikwase Kyagulanyi”, “tugenda nteb e muntebe”, “We are removing a dictator”.
But after loosing the 2021 January elections, National Unity Platform has failed to gain ground in many districts of the country.
Like FDC, NUP Leadership and supporters thought they would win the January 2021 elections easily.
After failing they have concentrated on cyber bullying everyone who disagrees with them, people who hold government positions and mostly the First family.
In the media and other public platforms, NUP has impudent activists who spread terror including threats of physical harm against whoever takes contrary political line.
Like the exodus of many Opposition members of parliament from different political parties to the newly formed National Unity Platform so that they could retain their seats in parliament.
Ugandans should get to know that these opposition parties organisation strategy is based on personal greed and not national interest.
As it was in 2005 with FDC, it has been the same as NUP in 2019 and I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens again in 2026 with an emergency of another political party.
If the National Unity Platform fails to build grassroots structures and only focus on abusing everyone who opposes them on social media and other public platforms they are taking the same old path of UPC, DP and FDC.
And like the old saying in Texas, the smallest dog barks the Loudest, NUP is on the brink of losing their Ultimate purpose of formation. The question is, do they have a purpose at all or am I over rating them?
