From Defiant Leader, Greedy Bobi Now Pleads To Museveni For IPOD Money

In a move that has left many scratching their heads, National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine has made a dramatic about-face regarding the much-coveted Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) funding.

Just months after vowing never to accept Museveni funding tied to stricter conditions, Bobi has instructed his blue-eyed Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Joel Ssenyonyi, to plead with the dictatorial regime for IPOD money, which is a bare contradiction to his previous declarations.

Earlier this year, Parliament amended Section 14 of the Political Parties and Organisations Act, introducing stringent conditions for funding that only applies to political parties represented in Parliament who comply with new democratic principles, such as promoting tolerance, peaceful coexistence, and active participation in IPOD activities.

This legislation, which was passed in absence of opposition after Joel ordered them to walkout of the chambers now fully assented to by President Museveni, marked a turning point in Uganda’s political public funding.

Bobi, who has relied on an impressive Shs5bn annually without engaging in IPOD since its inception, vehemently protested the new measures.

He stated that joining IPOD would betray their commitment to resisting Museveni and suggested that it would provide the long-time leader with a “photo opportunity.”

“It [the new law] was brought because when we [NUP] came forward, we started that our primary goal was to overthrow Museveni’s government. We refused to sit with him,” Bobi said in July while launching the national fundraising the forthcoming 2026 elections.

To further excite his audience which included the sitting MPs whom he turned into moneybags, Bobi said, “Some people [we speak to] in the government tell us that he (Museveni) was furious over how a government can continue to fund its own downfall.”

U-turn

Fast forward hardly two months later, and the same NUP leader who declared his party would not beg for Museveni’s support has shifted gears.

After successfully raising over Shs9bn which he targeted in the fundraising hinged on fleecing those who sought the red party cards, and contributions from Ugandans in the diaspora, Bobi succumbed to the very system he publicly condemned.

In the afternoon plenary sitting on September 4, 2025, Joel Ssenyonyi informed Parliament of his instructions from his leader Bobi to inquire about the processes for applying for IPOD funding, branding the party’s earlier position as no longer viable under the new legislation.

“This new law has conscripted us,” Ssenyonyi suggested.

In a concession that signaled a stark change from their previously hardliner stance, he stated, “We are now ready to abide by the new Political Parties and Organisations Act so that the party can get IPOD funding.”

The idea of defying Museveni seems to dissolve in light of financial necessity.

The Inquisitive Ugandan public is left wondering; what happened to the fervent resistance against Museveni’s funding?

Questions loom over how NUP’s financial struggles led to just Shs 20 million remaining in their accounts when the government has supposedly increased financial backing for political activities.

While launching the mega fundraising drive which he also took overseas particularly in South Africa, Canada, and the USA, Bobi informed his gullible audience including MPs whom he reduced to moneybags, that they had realized, the party’s accounts had been left with just Shs20m of all the billions amassed from both the IPOD, and other sources.

“I have to tell you that very recently we checked in our accounts and there was only Shs 20million,” Bobi told his supporters boldly during the July multi-billion fundraising launch.

He added, “And yet the government went and increased the presidential nomination fee to Shs20m. So we were asking ourselves if we should use the money just for my nomination.

To those familiar with the goings-on in NUP, reveal that the initial funding from IPOD was siphoned off to purchase inflated party headquarters, and buy personal properties in developed countries, namely; South Africa, and the USA by the party principal.

Locally, those familiar with the inner workings of Busaabala begin to piece together the NUP team’s real estate pursuits, skepticism also mounts regarding the true intentions behind Bobi’s renewed interest in IPOD funding.

Gone are the days of the chest-thumping declarations of independence; the multi-million-dollar question now emerges: what will be the next narrative from Bobi Wine and his party regarding IPOD funding?

The dramatic irony of the situation pushes many to speculate on whether this shift in stance is genuinely about the party’s sustainability or a strategic maneuver to secure resources from a government Bobi and carpal profess to oppose.

And, the audacity to reverse course on such a pivotal issue paints a colorful portrait of hypocrisy that runs deep within NUP’s fading integrity and trust.