The year 2031 has tentatively been set as the date when Kyagulanyi intends to cease being NUP President. That is one. And then two, as he prepares to carry on with his protest vote campaign, some influential insiders at Kavule are prepared for both scenarios-in case he loses or beats Museveni in 2026.
In case, he loses its being suggested that Kyagulanyi should have his personal sacrifice rewarded as opposed to being allowed to finacnially struggle like any other opposition party president.
Promoters of this view are saying that Kyagulanyi should be facilitated to live large and have a decent life in case he doesn’t defeat Museveni in 2026.
It’s being proposed that a total of 25 NUP flag bearers for MP seats be required to commit themselves in writting that they will be prepared to surrender 15m off their monthly salary for 5 years between 2026 and 2031.
This proposal, once implemented, will enable Kyagulanyi pocket a monthly retainer of 375m per month. This derives from 15m times 25 contributing MPs.
In a whole year, this translates to slightly over 3.7bn and roughly 20bn in the five year period between 2026 and 2031. This will make politics the most lucrative undertaking Kyagulanyi has ever made in his life time.
Mind you that is all tax-free because what will happen is for each of the 25 NUP MPs coming to parliament under that arrangement to be required to instruct the accounts department of parliament to keep making monthly deductions at the source in favor of the proxy money lender(s) Kavule will have nominated and recommended to each of the bonded 25 MPs.
The proposal, likely to turn Kyagulanyi into contemporary Uganda’s richest opposition politician, has so far split members of the NUP top decision making organs, with many saying they are tired of being used as stepping stones by the Kyagulanyi/Sentamu family whose other member Fred Nyanzi currently pockets 50m per month.
Other fellow NUP heads of departments doing even useful work than Nyanzi’s kunga department does, are earning 40m per month as their remuneration and facilitation too. It’s some of these who are grumbling because in Nyanzi’s case, the 50m is his take home.
It’s being projected internally that NUP can increase its MP numbers to beyond the 57 they currently have and it’s from that total number of the post-2026 period, that a total of 25 MPs is being proposed to carter for what sources described as “enkuluuze ya principal” which literally translates to mean the principal’s classified fund.
To increase chances of that comfortably happening for five years without of the 25 MPs revolting and terminating the offer, key strategists in the NUP secretariat at Kavule are targeting most of the incumbent NUP MPs to be eliminated in favor of naive new comers who can be easily manipulated.
The incumbents are considered big-headed and unlikely to accept such extortionist arrangements because, having been to parliament already, they know firsthand how complicated financial matters can be for a sitting member of parliament.
It’s through eliminating many of the incumbent MPs that room is going to be created for less prolific NUP foot soldiers whose naivety and raw financial excitement Kavule can exploit to stampede them into such suicidal arrangements of surrendering 15m per month towards the principal’s nkuluuze.
The incumbent MPs can’t accept that and a few of them have been approached and asked to find up to 300m one off payment and pass it on to Kavule agents in return for the NUP ticket to be given to them to be able to retain their MP Seats. Many of them have declined that extortion while demanding for proof that the NUP flag on its own is still enough to get somebody a win.
Some of them doubt that the NUP wave will be decisive this time around as was the case in 2021. Some incumbent MPs fear that Kavule can give them the flag and at the same time the principal unleashes an independent to defeat you the way top party officials unleashed Joan Namutawe to defeat Harriet Sebuwufu who had the flag for Masaka district woman MP in 2021.
Having established that they are now unwanted because many of them are clearly opposed to the proncipal earning 375m per month by taking away 15m from each of the 25 MPs, growing numbers of such incumbents are determined to fight back.
They are doing this by plotting to frustrate plans to declare Kyagulanyi the sole candidate for NUP presidency and presidential candidate in 2026. They are considering to front chief opposition whip JB Nambeshe or anyone else who will be willing to have the balls to stand against Kyagulanyi.
Kavule is already fully aware and out to counter this move by disgruntled incumbent MPs through declaring campaigns like ‘Bugisu for Kyagulanyi’ as was done on Monday in Mbale. This is meant to cow risk takers like Nambeshe who Kavule suspects wants to upstage the principal for the position of NUP predidency.
Foot soldiers claim that Nambeshe stands no chance, not even one in a million years, and will end up using that humiliating defeat as justification for his anticipated return to his mother party NRM.
The incumbent MPs also intend to push back by demanding for more transparency in the party and also by having someone challenging secretary general Lewis Ribongoya.
This is all meant to make the Kyagulanyi group at Kavule paranoid, stretched and too disorganized to be able to effectively antagonise incumbent MPs while propping up political upstarts to stand against them for 2026.
Some of the disgruntled incumbent NUP MPs are willing to closely work with NRM by accepting facilitation to remain in the race and disorganize whoever will be the NUP flag bearer in case Kavule disregards them. The idea is to split the opposition vote so that someone carrying NRM flag or anyone else more acceptable to the ruling party wins the constituency at the expense of NUP interests at Kavule.Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
