Yusuf Nsibambi, the Mawokota South legislator who also doubles as the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Chief Whip in parliament has threatened to resign his two political positions if Kira Municipality Member of Parliament Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda tables evidence supporting his allegations that he has been having secret dealings with President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s government.

Ssemujju claimed that Nsibambi shocked him when he discovered that the man he has been respecting for a long time as a university law don and the former chairperson of Kampala District Land Board is a mafia.

He alleged that he has evidence showing that when parliamentary committees made majority and minority reports, Nsibambi always signed on both reports.

He disclosed that Nsibambi always signed the majority report to show President Museveni that he supports him but also signed the minority report to show that he is supporting the opposition in parliament.

He added that from then on, he lost trust in Nsibambi and it was the reason why he was not shocked when he decided to attend parliament plenary when the Leader of Opposition in parliament Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba directed them not to attend until president Museveni’s government gives parliament a detailed report on the status of the opposition supporters who are missing.

However, Nsibambi put Ssemujju on notice to provide proof to support his allegations, promising to resign if he tables the evidence.

He accused Ssemujju of being one of the new breed of politicians who have mastered the art of playing malice and blackmail politics.

He said that Ssemujju is using the opposition parliament plenary boycott to carry out his revenge on him after he was dismissed from the office of FDC Chief Whip in parliament.

He advised opposition leadership in parliament to avoid using the boycott to fight personal battles like Ssemujju is doing because they are dealing with President Museveni who spends over 18 hours a day only thinking about politics.

By Hadijja Namagembe

The Plan B for Mathias Mpuuga the Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LOP) has put his fellow leaders in the National Unity Platform (NUP) under pressure.

Julius Katongole one of the Assistants to NUP Principal Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) and also NUP youth leader in Lubaga Division has confirmed to theGrapevine that last week, his boss held a top level meeting with his confidants to decide Mpuuga’s fate.

Mpuuga’s term of two and half years as LOP is expiring in December next month and Bobi Wine has to decide whether to extend his term or appoint a new person.

NUP sources disclosed that Mpuuga is desperately fighting to renew his term that is why he has been moving from one church to another in his home area of greater Masaka pleading with Catholic clergy to pray for him.

Sources said that in last week’s meeting which took place at Bobi Wine’s Magere home in Wakiso district, three names were discussed from whom to choose the next LOP.

Among them was Butambala County legislator Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi and Nakawa West’s Joel Ssenyonyi who is also the party spokesperson.

Sources said that Kivumbi’s proponents put up a strong challenge after his name was recommended as a better replacement for Mpuuga basing on his charismatic bold leadership style during the time he was in acting capacity when Mpuuga was away.

They cited his acts of commanding opposition legislators to move out of parliament after President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s government failed to explain the whereabouts of the 18 missing opposition supporters catching the presiding officer Thomas Tayebwa the Deputy Speaker off guard.

According to a source, Bobi Wine was impressed by Kivumbi’s move and on returning to office, Mpuuga had nothing to do apart from continuing with the popular political move.

Sources said that the Magere meeting concluded with giving Bobi Wine the sole opportunity to choose the next Leader of Opposition between Mpuuga and Kivumbi.

Since then, he has been consulting a number of people including Dr. Kizza Besigye the four times presidential candidate.

Sources said that Mpuuga was very scared upon learning that Bobi Wine consulted Dr. Besigye because he is very sure that he cannot support him due to their political history.

Besigye’s camp insist that during the walk to work political activism, where Mpuuga was the national coordinator, he betrayed them.

Former Kawempe South legislator Mubrak Munyagwa claims that if it was not for Mpuuga, Dr. Besigye was going to use civil disobedience to mobilize people to protest against President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni and by now he would be out of power.

Kivumbi is also not in good books with Besigye because in the 2016 presidential elections, he was among the opposition members who dumped him and supported former Prime Minister John Patrick Amama Mbabazi.

Other people Bobi Wine consulted is Human Rights Law giant Laudislaus Rwakafuzi.

Retired Supreme Court Justice George Wilson Kanyeihamba was also consulted and according to sources he didn’t support Mpuuga.

Sources said that Kivumbi didn’t perform well as expected when he was the chairperson of Buganda parliamentary caucus especially when it came to advocating for Buganda issues especially demands for a federal system of government.

Sources said that after a long time, Bobi Wine traveled to the United Kingdom where he has spent more than ten years without going because of his anti-homosexuality statements.

According to sources in NUP, party diaspora supporters are divided with the team led by Hillary Sseguya against Mpuuga.

They have been on Bobi Wine’s neck to fire him and replace him with Ssenyonyi or Mityana Municipality legislator Francis Butebi Zaake.

Another group led by Daniel Kawuma the NUP Diaspora Team Leader in the United States of America are supporting Mpuuga and have asked Bobi Wine to stay the status quo.

However, Katongole insists that the LOP issue has already been sealed and very soon David Lewis Rubongoya the party Secretary General is going to send communication to the Speaker of parliament Annet Anita Among.

Other sources in NUP told theGrapevine that Bobi Wine and other party top leaders are very scared after learning that Mpuuga is set to sabotage their decision in the house.

Sources said that Mpuuga is likely to use the tactics of maverick Kira Municipality legislator Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda when he was dismissed as the Forum for Democratic Change(FDC) Chief Whip in parliament.

Bobi Wine and other leaders in NUP are very sure that Mpuuga commands support among party Members of Parliament and he can command them so that he remains in office until NUP calls a delegates conference.

NUP is also expected to make changes in its parliamentary committee leadership.

Recently, Bobi Wine directed John Baptist Nambeshe, the opposition chief whip to start receiving applications from their party MPs from those who want to serve in parliamentary committees.

The coming changes are likely to also affect the offices of the opposition chief whip and opposition Commissioner of parliament.

By Sengooba Alirabaki

Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba the Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LOP) is in trouble after getting information that the Speaker of parliament Annet Anita Among has plans to withdraw some of the security guards he has and the number of cars in his convoy as a punishment for fueling the opposition boycott in parliament.

On Wednesday, Among directed Adlof Mwesigye the Clerk to parliament to make sure that defiant opposition legislators are not given allowances for attending parliamentary committees or facilitated to travel inland and abroad on official duties.

She advised legislators who sit on parliamentary committees chaired by the protesting opposition legislators to appoint among themselves new leaders to continue with the parliament businesses.

The nonsense Speaker further directed that the opposition legislators who are on strike should not be put on the list of the legislators who are going to represent the country in the inter parliamentary games next month explaining that they shouldn’t be enjoying tax payers money without working for it.

However, while on Kabaka Ronald Muwenda Mutebi’s CBS radio, Mpuuga responded by assuring the Speaker that he is not going to be intimidated by her because of the privileges he gets because they are nothing compared to the issue that forced them to suspend their appearance in parliamentary plenary.

He advised the Speaker not to use her office to violate the country’s constitution but instead pressurize the State to answer their grievances and account for the 18 opposition missing persons who they claim were kidnapped by the State between 2019 to 2022.

However, highly placed sources in Speaker Among’s office confirmed to theGrapevine that Mpuuga is going to remain with only his car and one bodyguard because parliament has been using a lot of taxpayers money to facilitate his convoy of five cars.

Mpuuga is also going to remain with not more than five security personnel who will be providing security for him and his two homes one in Masaka and another at Kyengera Wakiso district.

The Speaker’s legal team cited the Administration of Parliament (Amendment) Act of 2006 which placed the Leader of Opposition to the level of a cabinet minister and hence Mpuuga should behave like senior minister for Finance Planning and Economic Development Matia Kasaija who has one bodyguard.

They further gave the example of the previous Leaders of Opposition who did not have huge security and convoy like Mpuuga.

This plan comes as parliament legal team are preparing for a legal battle with Mpuuga’s team who are planning to petition the Constitutional Court to secure a court order stopping Among’s directives.

Butambala County legislator Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi recently boasted that they are going to expose Among in Court like Mityana Municipality legislator Francis Butebi Zaake did when he was impeached from the office of the Commissioner of Parliament.

By Sengooba Alirabaki