The National Unity Platform (NUP) has vowed to remove the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) from power, accusing it of dictatorship, corruption and mismanagement of Uganda’s affairs.
The remarks were made during a thanksgiving ceremony hosted by newly elected Kira Municipality MP, George Musisi, at St Joseph Church of Uganda in Bulindo, Wakiso.
The event was attended by several NUP leaders, MPs, party supporters and youth activists.
Musisi said the thanksgiving was meant to celebrate a difficult election victory in which he defeated Ibrahim Ssemujju.
“We had a genuine reason to celebrate and thank God for all we went through during the elections, which eventually led to our victory despite intimidation, arrests of our supporters and brutality against our president, Kyagulanyi Sentamu, during the campaign,” Musisi said.
The Leader of Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi praised voters for electing Musisi and other NUP candidates.
Ssenyonyi described Musisi as a courageous human rights lawyer and a strong defender of ordinary Ugandans. He revealed that the party had appointed Musisi as deputy chairperson of Parliament’s Committee on Commissions, Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE), where he will work alongside Muwada Nkunyingi.
According to Ssenyonyi, the committee will focus on exposing corruption and holding government officials accountable.
“Do you know this man? We have tasked him to catch all the remaining thieves in government. We have a lot of trust in him because he is a big asset to you and to us,” Ssenyonyi told the cheering crowd.
Ssenyonyi also accused President Museveni’s government of failing to create jobs and provide adequate medical supplies in public health facilities.
He promised that NUP would work to change the situation and end what he described as a 40-year dictatorship. He further alleged that the party’s victory in the presidential election had been stolen through electoral malpractice.
Zahara Luyirika, the Makindye West MP urged President Museveni to stop protecting government officials implicated in corruption scandals.
Muwada Nkunyingi, the Kyadondo East MP said NUP legislators would use Parliament as a platform to promote the rule of law, good governance and the proper use of public resources.
Opposition Chief Whip Paul Mwiru thanked voters in Kira Municipality and Wakiso District for electing Musisi and Betty Ethel Naluyima. He said their election reflected the public’s desire for political change.
Speaking at the same event, Ethel Naluyima, the Waksio Woman MP, compared NUP’s political struggle to the biblical story of the Israelites leaving slavery for the Promised Land.
She expressed confidence that Ugandans would eventually achieve political change under Kyagulanyi’s leadership.
Kyagulanyi’s brother, Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu, cautioned opposition supporters against engaging in public quarrels on social media.
He said opposition groups needed unity and a common message if they were to effectively challenge the NRM government.
