The Prime Minister of the Buganda Kingdom, Charles Peter Mayiga, has advised the National Unity Platform (NUP) leaders to bear with one another as they push their agenda to be the ruling party.

Mayiga made these remarks while speaking to NUP leaders at Buganda Kingdom Palace in Mengo on Wednesday, March 27, 2024.

The meeting was attended by various NUP leaders, including Joel Ssenyonyi, the leader of the opposition (LOP) and party spokesperson; David Lewis Rubongoya, the party secretary general; Chairman Nyanzi, the national coordinator for ‘Kunga’; NUP Members of Parliament; and Councillors in the Central Region.

According to Mayiga, NUP leaders and followers should appreciate and tolerate people who may appear impolite and ill-mannered due to their status.

“Joel Senyonyi has two children, but you may find that they are not the same, yet they are all children. You should learn to co-exist with each other. You have to learn all this while still in opposition, because when you fail now, you will not learn while in power,” Mayiga said.

Mayiga’s advisory follows internal squabbles in NUP that stem from the recent allegation that implicated the former Leader of Opposition, Mathias Mpuuga, as corrupt after he received a UGX500 million award. He has since been told to step down by NUP’s President, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu. In retaliation, Mpuuga said he would not resign as the Parliamentary Commissioner.

Ssenyonyi, who delivered UGX 21 million to the Buganda Kingdom for T-shirts that will be used during Kabaka’s run and forthcoming birthday celebrations, said punishing some leaders in the party for wrongdoing is not a sign that they hate them.

“Spare the rod and spoil the child,” Ssenyonyi said.

He added that it’s good for one to repent when they blunder instead of letting pride get the best of them.