Mathias Mpuuga, the Member of Parliament representing Nyendo-Mukungwe Masaka on the National Unity Platform (NUP) Party and also the Parliamentary Commissioner, has said that a political party is a valuable national resource that should not be used as a tool to boost personal ego.

He said that politicians make the mistake of thinking that political parties are about leaders, yet they are huge entities.

Mpuuga made these remarks while discussing the opposition’s future and whether it is at a crossroads on one of the local televisions on April 11, 2024.

“A party is a national asset and a public good; you cannot use it to satisfy your ego. The actions you take must put into consideration the stakeholders,” Mpuuga said.

He noted that, as NUP, they seem to be focused on the next election instead of organising for it, which he said is very problematic as things are not supposed to work in an individualistic way but rather in a party way, by allowing it to operate as a party and not as a small kiosk.

“The NUP party itself has not formed into an organisation; we have never left our formation stages to take the party to a second-stage performance level,” Mpuuga said.

Mpuuga added that, NUP being a young party, there are lots of forces tagging back and forth, saying that he gets the sense that his President, Robert Kyagulanyi, is caught up in these kinds of forces and has not given in to know where these forces are pulling from.

“I know the party constitution; I know the powers of a president; the president has powers over certain things, and suspending a vice president is not one of them,” Mpuuga said.

According to Mpuuga, the opposition must sit at a round table and agree on what is workable before it is too late.

He concluded by saying that he appreciates that everyone trained differently, but they can complement one another.

“I cannot wake up as Kyagulanyi, and he won’t wake up as Mpuuga. Our roles are different, and they can only complement each other.

Several leaders in Uganda have recently expressed their dissatisfaction with how Kyagulanyi mishandled the accusations levied on Mpuuga, indicating that he received UGX 500 million as the Parliamentary Commissioner.