Kampala, (UG):- National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine has dismissed the recent allegations by President Yoweri Museveni that NUP rigged over one million votes in the 2021 general election.
Museveni made the remarks while presiding over the final day of the three-day Defence and Security Expo 2024 at Speke Resort Munyonyo in Kampala on Thursday, September 12, 2024.
“I have now got all the evidence that in the last election, NUP cheated by one million votes. I have the facts. NUP can take me to court,” Museveni said at the expo hosted in honour of former army Chief of the Defence Forces (CDF) Gen. Aronda Nyakairima.
Speaking to the media on Monday, September 16, at NUP head offices in Makerere Kavule, Kyagulanyi called for an international audit into the election supervised by the United Nations before he dared Museveni to go to court.
“The remarks by Gen. Museveni, are utter shameless, especially made while honouring the distinguished man Gen. Aronda Nyakairima (RIP). My initial response was to forgive him. I am challenging him to subject himself to an international audit,” Kyagulanyi said.
Kyagulanyi, however, went on to task: “If he was cheated a million votes, why is he still keeping Byabakama (Justice Simon Byabakama, EC chairperson). Why don’t you fire him?”
Kyagulanyi, accompanied by most senior party leaders and supporters, revealed that he has written a letter to Museveni stating 22 charges he has against him. “Let him shade off Presidential immunity and we go to court and face each other.”
In the 2021 general election, Kyagulanyi lost to Museveni who polled over six million votes (58.38%) against his 3.6 million votes (35%).
NUP speaks out on formation of political party
The NUP leadership equally used the occasion to address the decision by the Electoral Commission to defer the registration of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) as a political party.
The PFF is being propelled by the allies of the former leader of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Dr Kizza Besigye (Katonga faction) who have since broken ranks with FDC on allegations of irregular financing of the party campaigns in 2021 by the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
EC in its September 4, 2024, response to the August 27, 2024, request by some affiliates of the Katonga FDC breakaway, revealed that in respect of the name of the proposed political party, People’s Front for Freedom, closely resembles an already reserved political party name People Power Front (PPF), which is likely to confuse members of the public.
However, NUP Secretary-General Lewis Rubongoya distanced their party from the people who reserved the PPF party with the EC.
“The slogan People Power Our Power, was also reserved and we have written to the EC to immediately revoke the reservation,” Rubongoya said before he accused the regime apologists of being behind such schemes to undermine the Opposition.
He warned that such actions also taint EC as partisan summoning to grant all political players equal chance of participation in determining the destiny of the country.
Leader of Opposition in Parliament Joel Ssenyonyi rallied the party leadership against falling prey to the deliberate schemes of detraction from the government.
“We are a formidable force by the grace of God and that’s why they smear us through propaganda. It is a sign that we continue to grow. Let us not lose focus,” Ssenyonyi said.
Additional Reporting by Nelson Kiva/ NewVision
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