Reasons Behind Bobi-Obote Alliance: NUP Leader Turns Kabaka Mutebi Direct Competitor

Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine and leader of the National Unity Platform (NUP), recently paid a visit to the grave of former Ugandan President Apollo Milton Obote, turning heads and sparking controversy within political circles.

This visit in which Bobi hailed late Obote as Uganda’s hero, occurred during Bobi’s campaign trail in Apac, where he was guided by Obote’s son, Jimmy Akena, the embattled Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) president.

Many viewed this gesture as unexpected and innocent; however, it was the culmination of a well-orchestrated two-hour strategy meeting held earlier before the campains at Bobi’s home in Magere.

The meeting, which took place mid-August 2025, included key figures such as Muwanga Kivumbi, NUP deputy president in charge of Buganda, David Lewis Rubongoya, the party secretary-general, Joel Ssenyonyi, party spokesperson and leader of opposition in Parliament, as well as Betty Nambooze, Lina Zedriga, the deputy president in charge of northern region, and other prominent NUP members.

Together, they strategized on how to bolster their campaign against long-standing adversaries while directly challenging the dominance of Buganda Kingdom’s leadership led by Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II.

Reflecting on the meeting, Bobi announced, “Comrades, I have abruptly called you here at our State House Magere to finalize what we have been talking about in a somewhat ad-hoc way. As you can all see, time is not our best ally because we are just days from the official start of the presidential campaign trail.” He said, demonstrating the gravity of the situation as the NUP prepared to combat its enemies.

In framing the purpose of their gathering, Bobi noted, “For the last 5 years, we have been in active fight with all our enemies in all aspects, wherever they are,” he acknowledged to set the tone for discussing past obstacles encountered, particularly internal ones.

Bobi, while addressing his compatriots, stated, “Our fight against our enemies has not been easy all through because we had impediments from within,” identifying an internal challenge which he said, stemmed from the “Masaka man,” a former ally whose closeness to the party’s adversaries, he said, had hindered their efforts.

Bobi elaborated on the challenges posed by the Masaka man, saying, “This guy was so close with some of the enemies we are fighting… and he had used his positions especially in Mengo to build an army of formidable people around him.”

The tension surrounding this internal discord had been palpable, leading to the eventual expulsion of this individual from the party.

Bobi stated the challenge presented by this former member, highlighting that “the only challenge is that his figure had almost covered us all, locally, and internationally because he was too smart in speaking, and actions.”

Muwanga, Nambooze Appreciated

Turning the focus to gratitude, Bobi acknowledged the hard work displayed by Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze and Butambala MP Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi, who he said, had played significant roles in combating their own old ally.

“In a special way, I would like to first of all thank Mama Zedriga who played a very good role when I left her in my position to take that bold position to expel Masaka man, and Honourable Muwanga Kivumbi for accepting the role of bravely talking against that man despite their history of comradeship,” he expressed, commending their bravery in smoothening the hard work of executing political murders.

“Thank you for knowing what we need as a party. I would also like to thank Honourable Betty Nambooze for boldly speaking against that man despite being her long-time associate in politics,” Bobi said.

He explained, “Comrades, the reason I have thanked the new recruits is that they have overzealously did the work which would have given us a very hard time as new kids on the block to convince the people about our intentions with our enemies, but these who accepted to stand with us yet they were part of them, made the battle almost seamless.”

It is after the lengthy explanation that he revealed the reason behind the full acceptance of  the pair onto the top strategists of the party.

“So, you should not get surprised that even the remnants of the Masaka man led by this Busiro lawyer you all know are no more in our party. I will once again, thank the Hon Muwanga, and Hon Nambooze for the guidance, and the active efforts to explain to the people about the decisions we took along that line,” he explained.

The party president added, “So comrades that has all been history to help me drive my point home. The major issues we have been talking about in ad-hoc way, is listing all our enemies and get the better way to take all of them on while in this campaign.”

However, the acceptance came with a mind-boggling confession by Bobi, stating “I had fears in trusting Hon. Muwanga, and Hon. Nambooze given their history with a particular group of our enemies, but what we have gone through together, their actions and efforts have proved them as rightful partners. So, counsel Secretary General, comrade Ssenyonyi, and comrade Nubian Li, please trust my decision to make them fully sanctioned members of this top brass.”

He then revealed more to convince his peers on the duo additions on to the team saying,

“I will tell you what some of you did not know. Hon. Muwanga has been very helpful in giving me the information from Mengo which I used to share with you SG and LoP before directing our social hit team to swing into action. He is the guy who told me what the Katikkiro of Buganda means in case the King died sometime back when he fell sick,” Bobi said.

“He briefed me deeply into political dynamics and how that man Mayiga was against us. When I turn on Hon. Nambooze, she played a very big role when it came to directly attacking the Katikkiro which I think nobody could. You remember when we were pressing hard to demand Kabaka’s whereabouts, and her logical cheering in my favour. We were just playing politics, with interest of making people believe that the Mayiga man had connived with the State to kidnap Kabaka,” he added.

Bobi Wine said the motivation behind the heightened demand for Kabaka’s whereabouts during his illness as “We had wanted to use that a spark for people’s uprising because we know people love their Kabaka so much. And I wish to thank Hon. Nambooze for feeding comrade Lumbuye with much of the information he uses against Mengo, thank you.”

On conclusion of the revelations above, the real intention behind Bobi’s meeting with party leadership, however, emerged; it was to discuss the goal of elevating NUP’s position in Buganda Kingdom, clearly positioning himself against Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II.

Bobi revealed his aspirations plainly statig,“That battle we fought in demanding Kabaka’s whereabouts bore fruits because he was prematurely discharged from Namibia to our advantage only for him to come back here very angry at us! I feel very disappointed in him because he made a speech which attacked us, and protected that Katikkiro whom we don’t want to see at Mengo.”

He chest-thumped, “To those who know me well, I am rastaman, I do not give a dam. If that guy Kabaka doesn’t want us, we also don’t want him. He has no contribution in our being in politics as the biggest opposition; we made ourselves, (omutonzi waffe yasalawo). This is the time to show him that he is our enemy too.”

Bobi then fumed, “I have information from the Honourable Muwanga, Nambooze, former Katikkiro Dan Muliika, Owekitiibwa Florence Bagunywa Nkalubo, and a few others I will not talk about that he also sold his soul to Museveni. When Masaka man was still the LoP, the government could pay almost Shs5bn every quarter of the financial year out of the money he demands from the government.”

“We are not being hosted on CBS, his radio which we call ours, but he is very quiet. Does he [Kabaka] want to tell us he doesn’t listen to CBS? These guys are all in connivance, and against us. So, we are going to use this campaign to show them that I am the King without that title,” he shouted his grievances, “in fact, we are going to ally with Obote’s son to glorify the late Obote who killed his father in exile to hurt his feelings, directly.”

His bold declaration emphasized that he aimed to demonstrate his influence as a leader within Buganda, effectively competing against the traditional authority represented by the Kabaka.

Bobi’s ambitions were starkly illustrated during his visit to Obote’s grave. While many perceived his actions as a courtesy, Bobi’s intentions were deliberate.

The role of party members on the battle against Buganda were defined with clarity as Bobi assigned tasks aimed at counteracting Buganda Kingdom’s influence.

Nambooze and Muwanga were tasked with gathering intelligence from Mengo, while Zedriga is charged with coordinating the Bobi-Obote family alliance, and influence other stakeholders including clergy in Lango region to amplify their message.

Meanwhile, Rubongoya and Ssenyonyi were directed to control social media influencers to spread their narratives, showcasing the organized approach to their campaign strategy.

Bobi’s disdain for the Buganda establishment was palpable. In discussing the potential consequences of their campaign, he expressed a desire to project Mengo as a divisive force in Buganda.

“Our objective is to project the Mengo under the leadership of Kabaka Mutebi as a hate-monger in Buganda, as we sell the narrative that we are the uniting force from Buganda,” Bobi clarified to his team of leaders.