Uganda’s opposition leader Kyagulanyi Robert alias Bobi Wine has accused President Museveni and the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) of staging fake defectors by using stolen materials from the National Unity Platform (NUP) offices.
The allegations which have ignited political outrage comes days after NUP offices were raided with party branded items including over 1,000 T-shirts and 2,500 membership cards reportedly taken.
Taking to social media, Bobi Wine did not hold back. He alleged that unknown individuals who had never been seen within the party were dressed in brand-new NUP T-shirts and waving stolen membership cards before being paraded as defectors to NRM.
“Yesterday, Museveni shamelessly paraded people whom we have never seen and claimed that these were NUP members crossing to NRM!” he posted on X (formerly Twitter).
Bobi Wine further claimed that the NRM government had transported people from various districts to swell the numbers at Museveni’s rally in Kawempe North an area known as an opposition stronghold.
The allegations have sparked heated debate in Uganda’s political circles with NUP supporters seeing this as a desperate move by the government ahead of the highly contested Kawempe North by-election.
Museveni’s recent rally in Kawempe Mbogo was meant to drum up support for NRM candidate Faridah Nambi in a bid to take over the parliamentary seat previously held by the late Muhammad Ssegirinya, an opposition MP.
However, reports from the event suggest that the ruling party was struggling to show strong local support in an area long dominated by NUP and Bobi Wine’s People Power movement.
NRM officials have denied the allegations calling Bobi Wine’s claims “sour grapes” from an opposition leader who fears losing ground.
“Defections happen all the time. NUP is simply embarrassed that their members are realizing NRM has the best policies for Uganda’s future,” said an NRM spokesperson.
Government officials have also dismissed claims that security forces stole NUP’s materials stating that NUP has no evidence to support its accusations.
With the Kawempe North by-election just around the corner, tensions between the opposition and ruling party have reached a boiling point. Allegations of intimidation, unfair arrests and state-orchestrated political games continue to dominate Uganda’s political scene.
