National Unity Platform (NUP) Principle Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) recently confirmed that a section of fellow leaders in his party are planning to force him out of the party leadership.
He explained that a number of politicians in 2020 decided to join him and his party to get political offices after establishing that Ugandans had embraced him and his people.
Bobi Wine revealed that these people immediately after winning political offices started fighting him and boasting that they should be the ones to lead the struggle because of their political experience, and him and other leaders who formed NUP should accept to be led.
Highly placed sources in NUP told theGrapevine that Bobi Wine made this statement after establish that his immediate political competitor in NUP and also the former Leader of Opposition in Parliament Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba has been clandestinely mobilizing and meeting different people including NUP grass root leaders.
Sources allege that Mpuuga has been holding private meetings at Pope Paul II Hotel in Ndeeba a Kampala Suburb and at Serena Hotel Kigo with a number of opposition legislators in attendance.
“He has not only met social media influencers, Mpuuga also met those leaders who he is very sure will attend the 2025 NUP National Delegates Conference and participate in electing the new party leadership,” a source said.
Sources added that Mpuuga started the drive in 2023 but was threatened by Bobi Wine’s henchman David Lewis Rubongoya who is the party Secretary General, and because he was still interested in the Office of the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, he put the meetings on hold.
Sources assert that to dismantle Mpuuga’s structures, Bobi Wine through his brother Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu the chief party mobilizer also resurrected the KUNGA Mobilization drive a decision that Mpuuga vehemently rejected. He was joined by other legislators who claimed that KUNGA is targeting their positions.
Addressing the media at parliament, Mpuuga confirmed that he is not going to leave NUP because he is one of the founding leaders.
“I wish to state that I am a founder member of NUP where I serve as a Deputy President. I am not leaving the party I founded and I’m not doing anything that destroys a young party I participated in establishing with conscience and conviction. At least I’m not yet moved to that level,” Mpuuga stated.
He added that he is going to make sure that he cleans and streamlines the leadership problems in one of the country’s youngest political parties.
Mpuuga further assured Bobi Wine and his people at Makerere Kavule that he will not resign as parliamentary commissioner because he has done nothing wrong that warrants resignation.
He stated, “I wish to affirm that I confess no wrong doing whether in law or elementary common sense. The position of the law has been clarified to whoever wished to understand; but to not deliberately slander and defame me for short-term political security.”
“Let me now assure the entire NUP leadership, membership, supporters and the general public, that NUP is my party and I harbor no intentions whatsoever of leaving; I am going Nowhere, rather I’ll in the coming days embark on a process of instituting internal Party reforms to make it a credible and competent Government in waiting,” he vowed.
Mpuuga’s henchman and also Kimanya-Kabonera legislator Dr. Abed Bwanika was the first to reveal the plan of not leaving the party insisting that Bobi Wine cannot just push them out of the party in which they invested their energy and brains during its building process.
Bwanika said that they are going to fight from inside the party and make sure that all mediocres and jokers are forced out of the party leadership so that the political struggle against President Museveni’s government is energised like it was before Bobi Wine took over the leadership of the country’s main opposition political party.
He also revealed that they have the support of well thinking members of the society including cultural and religious leaders.
Former Kawempe South Member of Parliament Mubarak Munyagwa confirmed the ongoing private meetings chaired by Mpuuga himself and other legislators both at Pope Paul II Hotel and Serena Kigo Hotel.
He further claimed that Mpuuga’s camp secured a Shs8bn financial boost to facilitate his ongoing political drive to change the party leadership.
Sources in Bobi Wine’s camp confirmed that panic is high within the party because Mpuuga has created a strong base among delegates yet many of the foot soldiers, who support Bobi Wine are not voters in the delegates’ conference.
Bobi Wine was advised to welcome the mediation efforts to solve his misunderstandings with Mpuuga amicably otherwise he is likely to be defeated in the coming 2025 delegates’ conference.Sources added that Bobi Wine and his blue eyed boy Rubongoya are very desperate because even the amended party constitution has no capacity to save him.
“Our constitution has not yet started working, it is still in the process and we shall inform our members when it starts working,” Bobi Wine said while appearing on Radio Simba’s Olutindo program.
Masaka Diocese Bishop Serverus Jjumba has already offered himself to lead the mediation talks between Mpuuga and Bobi Wine to solve their misunderstanding.
However, it is not clear whether Bobi Wine will accept him because his people accuse the man of God for conspiring with a section of leaders in Buganda Kingdom led by Buganda Premier Charles Peter Mayiga to fuel Mpuuga’s plans to force him out of power.
Sources close to Bobi Wine disclosed that the musician turned politician was briefed that Mayiga is secretly leading a team that is mobilizing funds to facilitate Mpuuga’s NUP takeover.
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