The National Unity Platform (NUP), headed by Robert Kyangulanyi, recently made changes as the Leader of Opposition in Parliament. The changes saw the Leader of Opposition, Hon. Mathias Mpuuga, lose his position to Hon. Joel Ssenyonyi, the Member of Parliament for Nakawa West constituency. Mpuuga was then appointed commissioner of parliament, a position smaller than the previous one.
Mpuuga’s sacking was not news to the ears of many Ugandans since there have been internal fights within NUP where Mpuuga is looked at as a diplomat working with President Museveni and has therefore failed to implement the NUP beliefs of chaos and violence. A lot of questions have been raised about what Ssenyonyi will do that Mpuuga has failed to do, given that Mpuuga is an experienced politician with a background of good ideological orientation, having started politics at Makerere University in the Democratic Party and Buganda Kingdom, and therefore understands the political dynamics compared to Joel, who is barely two years in politics.
The fight for positions in the office of the Leader of Opposition in Parliament by NUP
members is a sign that opposition leaders are more content with the positions than removing Museveni, as they claim, and this leaves their supporters stranded with no clear plan of what to do next. It should be noted that Zaake is in court protesting his dismissal from the commissioner of parliament job, but even before the court decided, he was replaced with Mpuuga.
Whereas Bobi Wine defends the reshuffle, saying that it is aimed at training future leaders, his position as party president remains untouched, bringing in mixed reactions as to how he is different from the Museveni he purports to fight.
It is clear that the NUP leaders are too excited and have no agenda apart from occupying the positions and enjoying the privileges that come with such positions. What is more confusing is how Ssenyonyi and company will accept the privileges, which include government cars and security, yet they have been calling Ugandan police "Museveni police."
The Leader of Opposition in Parliament is entitled to two lead cars of security commanded by a superintendent of police as well as an official government car.
Forum for Democratic Change supporters are unhappy with Kizza Besigye joining the NUP in what they call the United Forces of Change because they look at NUP with Bobi Wine as an unserious group of opportunists aimed at serving their own interests rather than being in the struggle for change. NUP leaders have been cited as living luxurious lives, holding expensive weddings, and spending days on boat cruises and beach parties as their foot soldiers and supporters languish in prisons, leaving their suffering families behind.
The future of NUP remains unclear since its supporters and a group of leaders have already started punching holes in the mode of working, something that has already brought in fiction and therefore more future divisions that will see NUP perform poorly in 2026 compared to 2021. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
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