NUP Will Pay Catastrophic Price For Bobi’s Made-Up War On Mpuuga, Warns Nambooze

In a scathing critique, Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze has warned that the National Unity Platform’s (NUP) relentless infighting, particularly the vicious campaign against its Vice President in Buganda, Mathias Mpuuga, will ultimately prove catastrophic for the party.

Nambooze’s stark warning comes amid escalating tensions within NUP, as internal power struggles and personal vendettas threaten to derail the youngest, and largest opposition party’s momentum, and undermine its mission to challenge Uganda’s long-standing ruling regime led by Yoweri Museveni.

“Even this angry fight against [NUP] Vice President in Buganda with many made-up words, I can assure you, NUP will pay a heavy price for that moment,” Nambooze who has been a key protagonist in the ongoing fight said.

She explained that the situation became a toxic environment to deter potential new members from joining the party.

“The hard situation which, followed a deliberate plan against Owek. Mpuuga, could not bring an opportunity for new members to join NUP because the party has been consumed with unending squabbles yet new members would need a peaceful internal environment to be attracted.”

She added, “by the time the fight against Mpuuga started, we were in the recruitment process where we could sell party cards, and form party structures which were all halted. Whenever our president has gone, he has been fighting against Mpuuga, and even if he spoke other important words, they could not be highlighted because the interest is on fighting Mpuuga.”

She asserted, “So, that tense situation could not even help the party to attract other political players to join NUP because they could not afford to start on the note of aiding them to fight the battle against Mpuuga. Imagine Besigye joined NUP during the tense situation…he could have to make a choice between Mpuuga, and Bobi Wine which is obviously, difficult.”

Nambooze’s criticism against Bobi’s approach is not farfetched as it’s on record that the chaos within NUP began when opposition players like Dr. Kizza Besigye, Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, Kira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, and Gen. Mugisha Muntu had started merging efforts with NUP to form a strong alliance against the ruling party despite the unthoughtful rebukes Bobi made on Besigye, branding him an ally of Museveni.

“For a leader to say a vote can never oust Museveni without offering a solution is disappointing. We believe in democracy, and it should not depend on us, but on people,” Bobi told Besigye, “Don’t talk about democracy and stand four times and on the fifth time you say it doesn’t work, we believe it works.”

Initially, after a reconciliation between Besigye, and Bobi, this partnership showed promise, with Besigye’s faction securing key positions in the opposition shadow cabinet led by Leader of Opposition (LoP) Joel Ssenyonyi.

However, the prolonged Bobi fight against Mpuuga who played a pivotal role in NUP formation, led Besigye’s group to establish the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) party, seeking refuge from NUP’s toxic internal politics.

Other opposition members who joined NUP, like Paul Mwiru, and Jude Mbabaali among others, have retreated from active politics due to the overwhelming rhetoric emphasizing “liberation struggle,” over positional interests.

Critics argue that NUP leader Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, has prioritized attacking Mpuuga over mass recruitment and mobilizing against Museveni’s long-standing regime.

In the past, the overzealous NUP leaders on top of accusing him of favoring Mpuuga overlooked Buganda Kingdom’s Prime Minister, Charles Peter Mayiga, who cautioned NUP to resolve internal disputes amicably, emphasizing patience and mutual respect, rather than washing dirty linen in public.