National Unity Platform (NUP) principal Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Bobi Wine) is very fearful after learning that a number of his party delegates are set to use the looming delegates conference to press him to the wall over the actions of some stubborn legislators and grassroot mobilizers commonly known as foot soldiers.
This website has established that a number of NUP legislators, councillors and other leaders led by Bobi Wine’s elder brother Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu the head of mobilization to ask Bobi Wine why he was not taming foot soldiers who publicly humiliate and embarrass them.
Leaders who are expected to attend the Wednesday delegates conference insist that these foot soldiers are being facilitated by top party leaders to embarrass any person they think is not in good books with Bobi Wine, Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya or the Leader of Opposition in parliament who is also the party spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi.
“For the last three to four months, Nyanzi has been facing a lot of insults from those foot soldiers. He was recently embarrassed Infront of other leaders at the party headquarters after the foot soldiers accussed him of being corrupt, a womanizer and a political failure. However, Bobi Wine only told them to be calm,” one of the leaders said.
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They added that foot soldiers also over demand for money from them whenever they see them and if they refuse to give it to them, they become hostile against that leader and resort to abusing him and making his life hard through social media and during public meetings.
They gave an example of the recent insults directed to Musoke Wakayima the Nansana Municipality at the party headquarters.
The party’s top organ wants to pass a resolution to establish a mechanism which can be used to discipline errant foot soldiers and other party supporters who insult leaders instead of taking matters to police or courts of law.
This website has also established that the issue of Members of Parliament, city councillors and those at the district, Municipalities and Divisions who are not loyal to the party’s top leadership will also be discussed in the said meeting.
Sources said that the errant MPs who have not been loyal to the party leadership will be given time to explain why they have acted in that way.
Among those expected to face a hard time during the delegates conference include: Mityana district woman legislator Joyce Bagala Ntwatwa who has been accused of sidelining with Democratic Front leadership especially Mathias Mpuuga and Dr Abed Bwanika.
“But I think Bagala’s issue is small and Bobi Wine is not bitter with her even though she looks guilty. I think she will be saved. But those councillors especially those of Lubaga Division who ate Janet Museveni’s money and voted Bashir Mbazira as the Division speaker their colleagues from Wakiso district who traveled to Garuga and met Gen Salim Saleh will be punished. I don’t think that they will even receive the party ticket again,” a senior NUP leader said.
Recently, NUP’s deputy president in charge of Buganda and also Butambala county legislator Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi announced that the party will front candidates against those who have not been loyal to the party top leadership who they gave the opportunity to apologize and they refused.
However, when contacted, Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro, the NUP deputy spokesperson said that the delegates conference will only deal with issues on the agenda starting with a prayer, communication from the president, report from the party’s secretary general, reports from department heads, election of the national executive committee and swearing in of the elected executive committee members.
