Fort Portal, Uganda – “Removing Museveni is not the mission. It’s only the beginning,” declared National Unity Platform (NUP) President Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, as he addressed a packed room of NUP leaders from across Western Uganda.
In a fiery and unapologetic speech during a resilience training workshop for NUP district and constituency leaders in Fort Portal City, Bobi Wine laid out a bold political blueprint for what he called a New Uganda, a Uganda that demands not just regime change but radical, people-centered transformation.
“Let us organize our leadership at every level,” Kyagulanyi urged.
“Removing Museveni is not enough; that is only the beginning. Our mission is to rebuild a NEW UGANDA and offer credible leadership to our people.”
The training, organized under the #NUPEverywhere campaign, is part of the party’s broader effort to strengthen grassroots leadership and build resilient structures that can withstand intimidation, co-optation, and state repression.
In a moment that resonated deeply with the leaders present, Kyagulanyi reminded them of the importance of self-awareness and narrative ownership.
“If you don’t define yourself, somebody else is going to define you,” he said. “It is very important that our people understand us.”
This message was directed not only at party loyalists but also at ordinary Ugandans who, according to Bobi Wine, have been bombarded with propaganda and false narratives about the NUP’s mission.
“We are not rebels. We are not troublemakers. We are a generation that refuses to be silenced, and we are committed to the future of this country,” he added.
Choosing Fort Portal, deep in the heart of the Tooro sub-region, an area long considered a stronghold of the ruling NRM, was symbolically strategic. The move sent a clear message: NUP is expanding beyond Buganda and taking its message directly to regions once written off as unreachable.
Party officials say the western resilience training is just one of many planned for Northern, Eastern, and West Nile regions in the coming months, signaling a new phase in the opposition’s strategy, institutionalizing People Power beyond Kampala.
The workshop focused on leadership ethics, community mobilization, digital security, and peaceful resistance tactics. Participants included elected and aspiring NUP leaders, civil society allies, and youth activists.
“We’re not waiting for 2026 to begin organizing,” said Joel Ssenyonyi, NUP Spokesperson and Leader of Opposition in Parliament. “The time to prepare credible leadership is now. Fort Portal is just the beginning.”
He added that the party’s emphasis on training over rallies is meant to nurture substance over hype, something many Ugandans have accused opposition politicians of lacking.
As NUP continues to position itself as Uganda’s most formidable opposition force, today’s messaging marks a shift from rhetoric to roadmap.
Bobi Wine’s remarks signaled a deeper understanding that leadership change without systemic rebuilding is meaningless, and power must be decentralized, democratized, and deeply rooted in communities.
“A new Uganda cannot be built on the ruins of dictatorship alone,” said Bobi Wine. “It must be built on the dreams, sweat, and truth of our people.”
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