By Aggrey Baba
With less than a year to Uganda’s 2026 general elections, a storm is quietly gathering within the opposition ranks, filled with mistrust, broken alliances, and blame games.
What was once hailed as a growing momentum for a united front against President Museveni’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) now appears to be falling apart.
Veteran politician Ken Lukyamuzi has come out strongly, accusing several opposition leaders of pretending to talk about unity while secretly working with the ruling party. “You can’t be seen at the banquet of your enemy and still claim to be in the struggle. Who are you fooling?”
The Democratic Party (DP), Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), and National Unity Platform (NUP), once seen as potential pillars of an opposition alliance, are now caught up in bitter disagreements and power struggles.
Erias Lukwago, a leading DP figure, expressed disappointment over the disunity, especially blaming some actors within NUP for distancing themselves from coalition efforts.
But not everyone agrees with that line of thought. Ken Lukyamuzi instead pointed fingers at the political system, saying it was designed to divide the opposition and reward confusion.
“You can’t fetch water with a basket and expect it to fill a pot. This system was built to scatter, not unite,” he added.
Former Rubaga South MP John Ken Lukyamuzi called for an honest conversation about unity, saying that parties only want coalitions that benefit them directly.
“They want to sit on the same table only if the meal is theirs. That’s not unity, that’s selfishness.”
Despite several previous attempts to build a joint opposition coalition, mistrust and political ambition continue to stand in the way.
Even efforts through platforms like the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) have failed to create lasting cooperation.
As the ruling NRM quietly prepares for battle, the opposition remains tangled in its own web, and if things stay this way, the 2026 election may be a repeat of past disappointments.
An old saying goes, “When the elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers.” And in this case, the Ugandan voter may once again pay the price. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
