A section of Members of Parliament (MPs) on the National Unity Platform (NUP) ticket seems to have got tired of what they have termed as poor administration by their Principal, Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine.
The disgruntled legislators who claim to have suffocated for enough period have joined the former Leader of Opposition, Mathias Mpuuga who is set to announce a new political party anytime from now, according to our credible sources.
The split which is clearly ahead of Uganda’s strongest opposition political party is most likely to leave it not only dented but badly cracked.
The party which eclipsed the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) as Uganda’s largest opposition party in the number of lawmakers is headed for tougher days than what the FDC faced last year.
Information received by this publication indicates that one of the party’s key figures, Mathias Mpuuga (Nyendo-Mukungwe Ward MP, Masaka City), is on the verge of leaving the party.
Mpuuga, who also is the NUP’s vice president in charge Buganda region, is in the final stages of establishing his own political party.
The new party, according to our sources is likely to walk away with not less than 30 of the 57 NUP MPs and is being backed by several big names in Buganda.
Sources say Mpuuga has been planning this for some time but has gained momentum as NUP bosses “aligned against him” over the last three weeks over his alleged involvement in the Parliamentary Commissioners’ Service Awards saga.
Mpuuga found himself at the center of attention in an ongoing protest on social media under the hashtag #UgandaParliamentExhibition after leaked documents revealed that he and three other parliamentary commissioners were irregularly awarded taxpayers’ money labeled “prize service”.
Mpuuga was personally allocated 500 million. NUP has asked him to resign as commissioner, an order he has defied.
An insider in NUP has told us that the next decision is to send him to the party’s disciplinary committee, which will eventually remove him as Buganda vice-president.
The name, symbols and other necessary requirements have been obtained to enable the registration of the new party which s expected to be registered this week with the Electoral Commission (EC), according to an insider.
The NUP Party is reportedly holding back and forth meetings on how to deal with this new development.
Among the MP set to quit with Mpuuga are those with whom he came from the Democratic Party in 2020.They include Betty Nambooze Bakireke, Medard Lubega Sseggona, Florence Namyanja, Veronica Nanyondo, Joseph Ssewungu and Allan Ssewanyana, as well as Emmanuel Kigozi Ssempala (Makindye-Ssabagabo).
Mpuuga is also likely to be joined by other disgruntled NUP parliamentarians such as Kawempe South’s Bashir Kazibwe.
