Main opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) party has told Ugandans to stop calling on its party president Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine to join protests led by opposition activist Dr Kizza Besigye.
Currently on remand in Luzira Prison, Besigye has been protesting the high commodity prices and an alleged plot to have first son Lt Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba succeed his father Gen Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni. Even those protesting Besigye tough bail terms and his continued detention were remanded. These included Soroti MP Anna Adeke and Kampala Deputy Lord Mayor Doreen Nyanjura.
Even as the main opposition party, Bobi Wine’s NUP has shunned Besigye’s protests, eliciting questions from a section of Ugandans. It is these concerns that Leader of Opposition in Parliament (LoP) and Nyendo-Mukungwe MP Mathias Mpuuga sought to address when he briefed reporters at the NUP headquarters in Kamwokya, Kampala, on May 31.
According to Mpuuga, who is also the NUP Deputy President for Central Uganda, the opposition or alternative government has done its part regarding the rising commodity prices and the economic crisis in the country, by issuing statements. Mpuuga said the party tabled a statement on the high prices and cost of living, before Parliament but President Museveni’s government has ignored the party’s proposals.
Mpuuga noted that NUP had advised the Museveni government to “cut on high taxes and to turn down their appetite for expenditure.” He is concerned that Museveni and his cabinet have not considered the proposals, which he and the opposition believe would have eased the situation a bit.
The seasoned legislator then went on to tell Ugandans not to wait for Bobi Wine but to go ahead and protest if they feel that the situation has pushed them to the wall. He made it clear to all supporters of the NUP that they should desist from asking why the singer-turned-politician has not yet joined Besigye’s protests, adding that it was everyone’s responsibility to express their discontent with the manner in which government has handled the situation.
Mpuuga sought to remind all Ugandans that they are leaders but at different capacities, including at family level, and that each one should begin where they are since the high commodity prices were not only affecting Kyagulanyi. He added: “If you want change tomorrow, you will have it tomorrow. I want to invite you to participate in every activity that will quicken the new Uganda. All of us have a duty and that duty must be played by everyone who feels affected.”
Recently, opposition activists have been blasting Bobi Wine for obeying the struggle against Museveni. Stella Nyanzi, for example, told Bobi Wine that he should be ashamed for refusing to join Besigye protests. (Read Story Here).
Meanwhile, a Minister in Museveni’s government has claimed that Bobi Wine has agreed to work with Museveni and his government. (Read Story Here).
