Rubongoya: NUP can’t boycot polls

The Electoral Commission has already rolled out its roadmap for Uganda’s 2026 general elections, with campaigns set to begin later this year.

While debates intensify within opposition circles about the effectiveness of boycotting the elections, the National Unity Platform (NUP) has made it clear that it intends to fully participate.

Speaking to Muhmmad Kakembo in an exclusive interview, DAVID LEWIS RUBONGOYA, secretary general of NUP, defended the party’s stance, asserting that boycotting would only serve to hand an easy victory to President Yoweri Museveni, the expected candidate for the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM). Read the excerpts below.

How has 2024 been for the National Unity Platform?

This year has been very challenging for us as a party. We lost our deputy president for Western Uganda, Jolly Mugisha, and have continued to witness the arrests and abductions of our members. The state has been heavily investing in propaganda against us. There was the corruption scandal that led to the fallout with our former deputy president for Buganda, Mathias Mpuuga.

Despite these challenges, the party also found opportunities for growth and renewal. The nationwide tours conducted earlier in the year served as a source of optimism and reaffirmed the public’s desire for change.

Even though the police eventually stopped the tours, everywhere we went, we were received overwhelmingly. We’ve visited all regions of this country, and the yearning for change is very high. That gives us hope and underscores what has been good about this year.

Do you still believe that the leaders you chose in parliament in 2023 were the best choices, considering what has transpired since then?

I think some choices were good, while others fell short. However, the most important takeaway is that having a new leader of the opposition who aligns with our party’s objectives and values was a positive step. He embodies what we stand for, and I believe he has not disappointed.

Many people have praised him for his work in combating corruption. He has also made efforts to unite our teams, creating a stronger sense of opposition in parliament. Previously, there was a perception that the former Leader of the Opposition (Mathias Mpuuga) was too close to the system, but now, Hon Joel Ssenyonyi is seen as a true representative of the people’s interests.

His willingness to call out corruption, including that of the speaker of parliament, Anita Among, and other officials, is commendable. That said, not all the committee chairs we selected have lived up to our expectations. We plan to assess their performance and address any shortcomings. Nevertheless, I believe the overall decision to make these changes in parliament was the right one.

How do you assess the success of the leader of the opposition?

The core mandate of the leader of the opposition is to hold the government accountable. As long as this is done effectively, I believe the leader of the opposition can be considered successful, despite inevitable challenges.

Anyone in this country can see that Hon Ssenyonyi and his team are making significant efforts to pressure the government, expose corruption, and highlight the misuse of public funds. While there are numerous problems in this country that cannot all be addressed at once, I believe Hon Ssenyonyi has delivered a stellar performance, particularly as chairman of COSASE.

One of the remarkable things that NUP achieved upon its emergence was proving that young people can serve and excel in leadership roles. We now have a leader of the opposition who is under 40 years old and performing admirably. As the secretary general, I am also under 40, and our party president began his leadership journey before reaching 40.

This should inspire young people to reject the notion that they are merely leaders of the future. The future is now, and they must rise to the challenge today. Hon. Ssenyonyi is proving that young leaders, with proper preparation, research and dedication, can lead effectively and make meaningful contributions.

Even when you paint a rosy picture, there still seems to be a lot of uncoordinated troop movement in parliament. It looks like Ssenyonyi is yet to fully succeed in uniting the opposition in parliament

That was expected. First, someone was dropped from their position. As someone I respected greatly, I had hoped they would take it in good faith and collaborate with the new leader of the opposition (LoP) and the rest of the opposition in parliament. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Things escalated further with the revelation of the service award, which made the situation worse. However, this was not entirely surprising. Our focus is on building a coalition of the willing, unifying individuals who share our values, objectives and vision. It’s unrealistic to expect everyone to immediately embrace a young leader. Despite this, I think Hon Ssenyonyi has made commendable efforts.

For instance, during the debates on the Coffee Bill, he successfully led not only the NUP members but the entire opposition side. More recently, he brought the opposition together to address the arrest of Dr. Kizza Besigye. I believe he is doing well under the circumstances. Even during Hon. Mpuuga’s tenure, not all MPs were united behind his leadership. There were always those who disagreed with his approach. This dynamic is part of the nature of leadership.

Do you think the Mpuuga fallout has been handled in the best way possible?

I believe it has been handled appropriately. Unfortunately, in Africa, fighting corruption often leads to significant resistance. This is not unique to Uganda. In fact, the phrase “when you fight corruption, it fights back” was first coined by a Nigerian official, the equivalent of our inspector general of government (IGG).

The NUP had to take a firm stand because everyone in this country knows it was wrong for our Leader of the opposition to accept a Shs 500 million service award or even to participate in a meeting where such a matter was discussed.

At the time, we expected Hon Mpuuga to come forward, apologize to the nation, and return the money. That would have spared the country a prolonged and unnecessary debate.

However, instead of taking that approach, he and Anita Among chose to respond defensively. As a result, the NUP stands by its decision and has no regrets about how it handled this matter. If we are promising Ugandans that we will uphold zero tolerance for corruption when we are in government, we must demonstrate that commitment now.

How has this fallout affected the party?

I don’t believe even one percent of our leaders have followed him. There were those who predicted a bitter fallout, but that has not been the case. We must remember that we operate under a dictatorship, where any fracture in the opposition is quickly amplified and exploited to the regime’s advantage.

You saw how Gen Yoweri Museveni chose to remain silent on this issue and even appeared to protect him. As the secretary general of the party, I would have preferred that we continue to unite and bring more people together. However, this is the reality we are dealing with.

We are now in 2025, and the political season has started. What are your plans as a party?

We remain committed to our struggle and will continue fighting until we achieve our objectives. We recognize that this year will be challenging, and the signs are already evident. For example, we have seen Museveni blocking roads and disguising campaigning by claiming to conduct Parish Development Model (PDM) tours.

Meanwhile, the police have imposed a blanket ban preventing us from organizing our own tours. We understand that these challenges will persist, but we are equally determined to keep fighting and to challenge the system at every turn.

Did you expect the police to roll out a red carpet for you?

Ordinarily, they should. We are fighting to restore a government based on the law, which believes in fairness and equity. That’s why I have said we shall continue fighting. When we get a setback, we get up and fight again. You see us on social media; you see us get teargassed and all those things.

When they say don’t go, you have seen us going. Of course, we have had an argument among ourselves with some saying, let’s defy the police who are bloodthirsty. You know what we have ended up with— wounded people and dead bodies. So, as leaders, we sit and assess. Different times call for different strategies.

When you know what your enemy is calling for, sometimes we say let’s not give it to them.

Are you planning to field a presidential candidate in the forthcoming election?

Absolutely. This has been discussed extensively, and we are planning to field not only a presidential candidate but candidates at all levels. While this is undeniably a dictatorship, history shows that dictatorships can collapse during, before, or after elections. Our strategy is to leverage every opportunity available, as every opportunity represents a fighting chance.

Consider the example of the Syrians, who fought for 14 years to bring down a dictatorship. Although their struggle was armed and came at a significant cost, it underscores the importance of persistence. In a nonviolent struggle, the same principle applies. When we participate in elections, one of our key objectives is to mobilize the population, communicate our vision, and unite them around the central issues we face as a nation.

There are people who say participating in an election whose outcome is almost known to everybody is a waste of time. How would you respond to them?

They have a valid point from their perspective, but I believe they miss the bigger picture of the context in which we operate. In Uganda, if we were to boycott an election, Museveni would simply field candidates like Norbert Mao or Katumba Oyee and declare himself the winner. Dictators do this sort of thing all the time.

It’s up to us, the people of Uganda, to come together and use every opportunity to say, “Enough is enough.” When we participate in elections, we are reaching out to the people to deliver that message: enough is enough.

Does it matter whether Museveni defeats a strong candidate like Kyagulanyi or a weaker candidate like Katumba?

It absolutely matters. The small gains we have as the opposition would be lost. For instance, through parliament, we are able to prevent him from doing certain things unchecked. We have leaders in parliament who are holding him accountable. If we boycott, we lose all these checks and balances.

That said, we continue to study and discuss these issues. We examine different models where opposition movements have boycotted elections and assess the outcomes. History shows us instances where opposition groups succeeded in removing dictatorships, sometimes after multiple elections.

As leaders of this struggle, we must continue doing the right thing—mobilizing, educating, and energizing the population—so they too will awaken and take action.

Have these checks ever stopped President Museveni from doing whatever he wants?

They have. Museveni himself has admitted it many times. You’ve heard him say that parliament frustrated him on certain issues. Of course, when dictators stay in power for so long, they become emboldened, as we see now.

But there have been many instances when the people have stopped Museveni from getting what he wants. Through checks and sanctions, which we have fought hard to achieve, there are limits to what he can do.

How will your party determine its flag bearers for the upcoming election?

I can’t give a definitive answer right now because it hasn’t been brought to the National Executive Committee (NEC) for final determination. What I can say is that the NUP card doesn’t sit on the secretary general’s desk, the president’s desk, or any individual’s desk—it’s with the people.

We will find a way to engage the people and determine who the right candidates are. There are different arguments and approaches to consider. Last time, we used vetting; we might use it again.

Primaries are another option. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages; so, I can’t say for sure which one we’ll use. The matter will be discussed, and a decision will be taken.

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