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Citizen Posts
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On 22nd July 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in Uganda, Firebrand politician and former Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine in a surprise move unveiled a political party called National Unity Platform.
For like three years, Bobi Wine was doing politics from his People Power pressure group but got in touch with Nkonge Kibalama and they secretly exchanged hands and leadership of the then National Unity, Reconciliation and Development Party (NURP) and rebranded it to National Unity Platform (NUP).
Bobi Wine would later contest for presidency on the NUP ticket and several politicians who managed to get the Ticket of NUP also vied for different positions and majority of these especially in the Central [Buganda] region were victorious with landslide wins. Majority of KCCA councilors are on NUP Ticket and the party now boasts of over 50 members of parliament.
Kibalama and his colleaugues have been in and out of court countless times trying to make a come back and reclaim their party which they whole heartedly gave to Bobi Wine and his comrades. The party which had it’s offices in Kamwokya now has fully fledged headquarters in Makerere-Kavule.
In a rather a bold move today, the National Unity Platform General Secretary has written to the Ministry of Defense and Veteran affairs requesting that it grants them permission to use Kololo Ceremonial grounds for their fourth anniversary slated for 22nd this month.
“We have decided to hold an event to commemorate four years since the unveiling of our Party on the 22nd Day of July, 2024. The event is organized under the theme. “Four Years of NUP: The Milestones Reached. the Obstacles Encountered and a Glance into the Future”-the letter reads in part.
NUP which contends that Kololo is a public ground which even the NRM uses for several of it’s activities with president Museveni is also convenient for them going by it’s historical significance and the number of people expected to grace this function and were advised that the army is now in charge of Kololo grounds.
“We accordingly request to hold this event Kololo Ceremonial Grounds, given it’s historical significance as well as the anticipated number of people at the event. We shall begin at 9:00am and finish at 6:00pm”-the letter further reads in party.
To prove they are determined to hold the event at Kololo, NUP further says that they’re even ready to postpone their event if the grounds are booked on that day. They also want the army to tell them the amount of money needed and all the nitty gritties to be followed in order to be allowed to use Kololo for their event.
“Please note that if for any reason the grounds are not available on that day, you may give us another day on which the grounds are available for our use, before the end of the month of August, 2024. We shall adjust our program accordingly”- NUP’s letter further states.
It should be noted that different political parties use public facilities for their activities. NRM normally holds a number of events at Kololo and their National Delegates Conference at Mandela Stadium [Namboole], it should be remembered that the Forum for Democratic Change [FDC] before it split into factions of Katonga and Najjanankumbi also celebrated it’s 15 years of existence at Namboole Stadium in 2019.
On 22nd July this month, we shall mark four years since the unveiling of the National Unity Platform to the people of Uganda. The journey so far has been marked by so many challenges, trials and tribulations. However, we have also reached various milestones in the pursuit of our… pic.twitter.com/xRVPRKBYZK
— National Unity Platform (@NUP_Ug) July 12, 2024
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