New bottles with same old wine, this phrase clearly describe the situation which celebrated Masaka region politician Edward Sansa Luwaga and a city lawyer has warned National Unity Platform (NUP) Principal Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) that if he doesn’t stop his family from controlling the party, he will end up in President Yoweri Museveni’s situation.
Luwaga explained that Museveni started showing that his family members influenced his going to the bush in 1980-86 liberation war through his Sowing the Mustard Seed book when he indicated that all the victorious roles in the war were played by himself or his young brother Gen. Salim.
“Now Gen. Saleh is like the country’s vice president taking serious decision which would have been taken by the vice president, when one reaches at a function where there is a vice president and Gen. Saleh, all government officials will fight to reach out and greet Gen. Saleh not the vice president and when I critically look at what is happening in NUP, Bobi Wine is planting the same seeds,” Luwaga said when he appeared on CBS radio.
He insist that Bobi Wine is preparing his elder brother Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu (Chairman Nyanzi) to be NUP’s Gen. Saleh once they take over power and it is the very reason why he rubbished orders issued by the party’s vice president in charge of Buganda Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba.
Recently, Mpuuga stopped NUP’s political mobilization campaign dubbed ‘KUNGA’ in Masaka region and explained that there are things he needs to first study as a leader and give guidance.
Nyanzi then blasted Mpuuga telling him that he doesn’t have powers to stop KUNGA boasting that Bobi Wine is the only person who can do so.
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He then directed NUP people in Masaka to proceed with the mobilisation.
Even though Bobi Wine has not yet made any comment on the matter, Busiro East legislator Medard Lubega Ssegona who is Mpuuga’s longtime friend confirmed that there are ongoing talks between Bobi Wine and Mpuuga and they will come up with a joint communication.
He insists that whatever Mpuuga is doing is in his line of work.
He warned some goons who claim to be NUP members to stop humiliating Mpuuga by abusing him on social media because he has invested a lot in building his leadership career to reach where he is.
He added that Buganda will not look on and allow some people to undermine a person he branded as a mature leader.
Highly placed sources in NUP told TV10GanoMazima that Bobi Wine as a person might not have any big problem with Mpuuga but his family members are very scared of his political leadership style and his contemporaries from DP Bloc.
Sources revealed that a person like Nyanzi was not happy with Mpuuga’s plans of building party structures to run the party that is why he wanted everything in the party to be decided at the party headquarters.
“Mpuuga and team wanted the party structure to decide who to be given a party flag in the 2026 general elections but Nyanzi wanted Mercy Walukamba’s electoral commission to decide at the party headquarters on who will be given the flag,” a source said.
He added that Mpuuga thought that when the issue of who would get the party flag come 2026 remains at the headquarters, many of their people would lose in favor of the grassroots youths mobilisers (alias foot soldiers).
Others think that getting a party flag will cost them a lot of money as it was in 2021, where people close to Bobi Wine and his family members pocketed millions of shillings from aspiring candidates and those with little or no money were left behind.
NUP insiders disclosed that some aspiring candidates especially women who didn’t have money, paid through giving sex to some party leaders. This is all known by Mpuuga and his colleagues who want to make sure that such a scenario doesn’t happen again. Insiders allege that those who solicited money from aspiring candidates have used the money to build mansions even though they don’t have any well-paying job they are currently doing.
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“They have built big houses, bought buildings, taken their children to international schools but when you ask them their jobs, they will tell you that they are in Bobi Wine’s security, others will tell you they are business people. Bobi Wine should sort out this ticket issue otherwise our party will lose its credibility,” one insider said.
Former Kawempe South Member of Parliament Mubrak Munyagwa claims that there are people taking gossip to Bobi Wine that Mpuuga wants his office as the party president with plans to contest against him in 2026 and these people are advising him to drop him as his vice president in charge of Buganda.
Sources said that by the time Mpuuga came out and stopped KUNGA, there was a clandestine plan to replace him with Masaka city mayor Florence Namayanja Mukasa who is currently being accused of funding a one Alice Nannungi to unseat Mpuuga as Nyendo-Mukungwe Member of Parliament come 2026.
Other sources with in NUP told TV10GanoMazima that even Barbra Itungo Kyagulanyi, the wife to Bobi Wine is also not happy with Mpuuga who he accesses of fuelling the dismissal of her sister Brenda Kejagye Kabwiso who was working as a Policy Analyst in the office of the Leader of Opposition.
After appointing Mpuuga as Leader of opposition in parliament, sources claim that Bobi Wine pleaded with Mpuuga to help Brenda get a well-paying job in parliament.
By then, Kabwiso was working under her sister in her Caring Hearts, a Non-Government Organisation (NGO).
Sources said that Barbie thought that once Joel Ssenyonyi takes over the Office of the Leader of Opposition, he was going to help Kabwiso get back the juicy job but she was surprised when Adolf Mwesigye, the Clerk to parliament issued a directive that all jobs in parliament should be given following public service guideline and Ssenyonyi was not given the opportunity to choose who to work with in his office as it was done with Mpuuga.
Sources added that there are invisible forces fighting to make sure that Ssenyonyi fails as the Leader of Opposition in Parliament and these forces have been frustrating the work of the shadow cabinet.
Whenever he summons the shadow cabinet meeting, the quorum is not raised. Mityana Municipality legislator Francis Butebi Zaake is also grumbling quietly.
He accuses fellow opposition legislators of fighting him because of his friendship with Bobi Wine and he alleges that he has been frustrated since his appointment as the deputy opposition chief whip.
Annet Anita Among the speaker of parliament revealed that in parliament, there is no position of the deputy opposition chief whip. She laughed at Zaake that Bobi Wine gave him air.
Zaake was angry at Bobi Wine for taking away his position as the Commissioner of parliament and giving it to Mpuuga as a consolation for losing the office of the Leader of Opposition in Parliament.
Zaake explained that he put up a spirited fight to save his office and even succeeded at the Constitutional Court, and even though the Attorney General appealed to the Supreme Court, chances are high that he is going to win their also.
He told Bobi Wine that giving his job to Mpuuga is going to turn his appeal academic. However, Bobi Wine consoled him with the office of the deputy opposition whip and the shadow minister for presidency and security.
Recently, Zaake alleged that his life was in danger after getting information that there are bad people who want him dead.
In the course of investigating this story, one of his assistants told TV10GanoMazima that there are even his fellow members in NUP who want him dead.
