In a press briefing held at the National Unity Platform (NUP) headquarters, NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu popularly known as Bobi Wine accused President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of systematically using public funds to bribe Members of Parliament, this time allegedly handing out Shs100 million each to push repressive constitutional amendments through Parliament.
According to Kyagulanyi, this is not an isolated incident, but part of a long-standing strategy to manipulate the legislature dating back to 2005 when MPs were reportedly given Shs5 million to scrap term limits.
President Yoweri Museveni, the National Resistance Movement (NRM), Members of Parliament and the Supreme Court of Uganda have all been entangled in the allegations with Kyagulanyi and NUP directly confronting what they call a “corruption-fueled dictatorship.”
Bobi Wine says MPs were bribed with Shs100 million of taxpayer money in a deliberate attempt to influence upcoming constitutional amendments.
He claims this fits a historic pattern of presidential handouts aimed at suppressing debate, blocking justice reforms and establishing Museveni’s grip on power.
These accusations match with continued defiance of a Supreme Court ruling that outlawed the trial of civilians in military courts highlighting the continued detention of political prisoners like Umar Kalanzi and others.
The revelations were delivered during a highly charged press conference at the NUP headquarters in Kampala, where opposition leaders and civil rights advocates gathered to decry what they described as the collapse of constitutional democracy.
Bobi Wine delivered the speech and the events he referenced span decades, from 2005 to 2025, marking a pattern of alleged bribes like Shs5 million in 2005, Shs29 million in 2017, Shs40-50 million in subsequent years, and now a staggering Shs100 million per MP in 2025.
According to the NUP president, the motive behind these bribes is clear, to amend the Constitution yet again tightening the regime’s control through repressive bills that silence opposition, shield government misconduct and prolong Museveni’s rule.
By funneling public funds into MPs’ pockets, avoiding debate in Parliament and refusing to implement Supreme Court decisions like the January 31st ruling that outlawed the military trial of civilians. Despite this landmark decision, political detainees remain imprisoned a sign, Kyagulanyi says, that “the law is only respected when it favors the regime.”
“Gen. Museveni cannot allow parliament to debate and distinguish between right and wrong… In every controversial amendment, there is always money changing hands. That is his currency corruption,” said Kyagulanyi.
He further stated that the impunity continues even in the face of court orders, questioning how a government that defies its own judiciary expects citizens to trust any form of justice.
NUP is demanding the immediate release of all political prisoners, especially those still facing military trials against the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The party is also calling on the public, civil society and the international community to hold the government accountable for abusing state resources and weaponizing corruption.
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