Mukula says NRM not afraid of People Power, warns politicians seeking pressure group’s nomination

Ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) vice chairperson for eastern Uganda Capt Mike Mukula says the party is not worried about Bobi Wine’s People Power pressure group.

On July 13, Mukula received about 40 politicians who defected from the opposition to the NRM party.

They included former Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) Buganda Coordinator Pauline Namagembe and Peace Kansiime of main opposition party Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).

ANT leader Mugisha Muntu has spoken out Namagembe’s defection.

At the official event to welcome Namagembe, Kansiime and others to the party, Mukula has also cautioned politicians against the People Power nomination process.

At the end of June, People Power invited candidates who wanted to identify with the pressure group to pick expression of interest forms.

A team of leaders of the pressure group will sit and vet the applicants before they can pick flag bearers for respective positions ahead of the 2021 general elections.

But the group announced its leader Robert Kyagulanyi, aka Bobi Wine, the Kyadondo East MP.

Mukula said NRM’s sole candidate, President Yoweri Museveni, was “a winning horse and we cannot change him.”

With Museveni, in power since 1986, in the driving seat, Mukula was confident NRM would beat all opposition parties and pressure groups.

“He [Museveni] has exhibited great leadership during the Coronavirus pandemic and has won confidence of Ugandans. He has shown capacity to manage challenges of the country.”

Mukula further explained that the People Power pressure ground doesn’t feature on the list of political parties the Electoral Commission (EC) recognises, lacked structures and was nascent.

“People power is just an assembly of pressure groups. You can’t associate with groups that can’t bring tangible evidence,” Mukula said.

“If it was a child, People Power is only growing teeth. It has no roots. Many will crush by joining it… The Electoral Commission only knows NRM, FDC, DP, UPC and Jeema but people power is not known.”