By Aggrey Baba
Buvuma Island County MP (NRM), Robert Ndugwa Migadde has revealed that President Yoweri Museveni had at a certain moment resolved to have former Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga arrested and prosecuted during the tense 2021 Speaker of Parliament elections, but that a last-minute dialogue between a group of five (5) MPs and the President cause Museveni to rethink the decision.
Migadde made the disclosure during the Parliament Yaffe, the February 7, 2026, Saturday program on Kabaka’s CBS FM, where he was defending Mawokota South outgoing MP Yusuf Nsibambi and other opposition MPs who, this week, met rhe president at State House Entebbe, a move that has sparked controversy within opposition ranks following the disputed January 15, 2026 general election.
Migadde Migadde said the Kadaga saga demonstrates that engagement with the President, even in politically charged moments, has previously prevented arrests and political persecution, and shouldn’t be mistaken for betrayal.
According to Migadde, the events date back to May 2021, as MPs had already gathered at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds to elect the Speaker of the 11th Parliament.
At the time, Migadde was the chief mobilizer for Kadaga in Buganda region, who(Kadaga) had served as Speaker for ten years, and was contesting against her long-time deputy Jacob Oulanyah. Although both were members of the NRM, the party had officially endorsed Oulanyah, a decision Kadaga rejected, opting to run as an independent in defiance of party rules.
Migadde said that their camp received information that State agencies had prepared to arrest Kadaga, should chaos erupt at Kololo during the vote.
Fearing that the situation could intensify, Migadde said he and four (4) other MPs (also NRM members and Kadaga supporters) decided to urgently seek an audience with the President and Party chairman at State House to calm the situation.
Migadde said Museveni acknowledged that security agencies had prepared to arrest Kadaga, and even showed them the file, though the MPs didn’t examine its contents or establish what charges Kadaga would have faced had the arrest gone ahead.
The pro Kadaga MPs appealed to Museveni to abandon the plan, warning that arresting Kadaga at such a sensitive moment would deepen divisions within both Parliament and the NRM. They also asked the President to guarantee that their candidate would remain free regardless of the election results, an appeal Museveni accepted, according to Migadde, and assured them that Kadaga would not be arrested before or after the election.
As part of efforts, Museveni, according to Migadde, rang Oulanyah, who was already at Kololo, to warn him against retaliating against MPs who had supported Kadaga once he assumed office.
“He told Oulanyah, ‘I am here with your enemies. They fear you will punish them in Parliament for not supporting you. I ask you not to do that,” Migadde said.
Oulanyah later won the Speaker’s race and went on to steer the wheels of 11th Parliament until his death in 2022. Kadaga was appointed First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for East African Community Affairs, a development Migadde said was part of the political assurances reached during their meeting with the President.
Migadde said this experience explains why he supports Nsibambi and other opposition MPs who recently met Museveni at State House, despite criticism from their opposition political parties and public scrutiny.
The meeting came just weeks after the contested January 15th election, whose results several opposition parties have alr3ady rejected, alleging several irregularities and State interference, with critics arguing that engaging Museveni at this time weakens the opposition’s collective position.
However, Migadde argued that dialogue has previously protected political actors from arrest and exclusion, and that rejecting engagement outright risks pushing political disagreements into confrontation.
Nsibambi and his colleagues (some of whom he says are newly elected MPs from different opposition parties, including the NUP) have said their meeting with Museveni focused on post-election stability, political prisoners and reconciliation, including concerns over detained opposition MP Muwanga Kivumbi. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
