By Joel Mugabi
A faction of main opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) party has opened a parallel ‘head office’ in Lubaga, Kampala this Tuesday morning. Led by Moses Kibalama Nkonge, the faction, has for long had disagreements with the Kamwokya-based group led by Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu aka Bobi Wine.
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Acquiring NUP from Kibalama in July 2020, Bobi Wine used this political party that had existed for over a decade, as a vehicle for his 2021 presidential bid, losing to incumbent and long-serving Ugandan leader Gen Yoweri Museveni. Bobi Wine’s NUP also won a number of parliamentary seats, most of them in the singer-turned-politician’s home sub-region of Buganda, to replace the FDC as the main opposition party.
Now, cracks within the NUP, some of which even began developing months before the 2021 election, seem to be widening, and threatening the existence of the political organization that Kyagulanyi had hoped to use to dislodge Museveni.
Kibalama and his group seem determined to throw Kyagulanyi and his clique that includes Spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi and Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya under the bus. As part of their plan, Kibalama and his colleagues have today unveiled their new office in Lubaga from where the “new administrative leadership will run the party activities both here and outside the country.”
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Gideon Tugume, the secretary for information of the Lubaga faction, explained that the launch of the new NUP office was informed by the decision taken by the party’s leaders who held their delegates’ conference on May 27. But the Kamwokya-based NUP faction has insisted that the party’s delegates’ conference is expected in 2025, not 2022.
Tugume further told reporters at the office unveiling ceremony that the relationship between the People Power Movement and the National Unity Platform leaderships had come to an end due to lack of transparency in the People Power Movement; People Power Movement’s failure to provide accountability; disrespect by Kyagulanyi and his group; mismanagement of NUP affairs by the leadership of the People Power Movement; as well as failure to ensure discipline within the party.
The Kibalama faction also accused the Kyagulanyi group of exhibiting dictatorial tendencies in the management of the NUP political party affairs instead of nurturing internal democracy within the political organization; failure to open up party structures; suffocation of party organs; failure to create a good working relationship with other political players in the opposition fraternity; as well as of disregarding of avenues for dialogue in Uganda’s political space.
With the unveiling of the new office, the Kibalama faction has now urged Ugandan authorities to “disregard Kamwokya as National Unity Platform Head Office.” The faction also sent a warning to Kyagulanyi and his group to stop using its party colours, symbols, stamps and any other party materials without permission from Lubaga.
The faction has also urged women to work with all its leaders so that NUP can “massively participate” in the women council elections. The group also said it was making preparations for the by-elections whose roadmaps have been announced by Justice Simon Byabakama’s EC.
“The road map for women elections has already been submitted to the independent electoral commission and all the women at all levels are hereby encouraged to massively participate in liaison with the leaders at all levels,” said Tugume. “NUP is already working to field candidates in all the bye-lections at all levels in all the areas as declared by the independent electoral commission and very optimistic to win in all areas.”
Tugume has also advised leaders elected on the NUP ticket to formalize their membership with the Lubaga faction. “The head office is now officially open for all the elected members of NUP at all levels including the members of parliament to come and formalize their membership to get the blessings of the real Bishops of NUP,” he noted. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [whatsapp line], 0779411734 & 0200900416 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
(For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [whatsapp line], 0779411734 & 0200900416 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).