A security standoff in Uganda has ended with the National Unity Platform (NUP) inaugurating its new headquarters. The opposition party’s president, Robert Kyagulanyi, and former FDC president, Dr. Kizza Besigye, officially opened the new NUP headquarters in Makerere Kavule, Kawempe Division, Kampala, on November 3, 2023.
The security standoff, which lasted for hours, began when a joint military and police force sealed off the premises. The NUP claimed that the police did not provide any justifiable reason to restrict access to their new offices.
Robert Kyagulanyi, commonly known as Bobi Wine, stated that they had to change their initial plans to open the building after security forces blocked their access.
Kyagulanyi, who has faced restrictions on public rallies and was forcibly removed from a return flight at Entebbe International Airport, expressed skepticism about the government’s reasons for the blockade.
He mentioned that the government cited President Museveni’s presence as a reason for the blockade. However, Kyagulanyi and other party leaders resolved not to engage in conflict and decided to open their offices as planned.
“In the beginning of the People Power struggle, the regime dismissed us as just a bunch of excited hooligans riding on a wave that would soon pass.
“Today, barely 2½ years since the fraudulent 2021 election, we have launched the new Headquarters of our struggle; the new home of the NUP & the People Power movement.
“These headquarters have been paid for with the lives and blood of our comrades whom dictator Museveni has tortured, maimed and murdered through the past 3 years for calling out his oppression.
“So, more than just being our new headquarters, they are a monument of all those comrades who have with their life paid the ultimate price for the rest of us to live free. Comrades like Yasin Kawuma; Ritah Nabukenya, Francis Ssenteza, Dan Kyeyune, Hakim Ssekamwa, and many others who now exist only in our memories.
“These headquarters are an imposing monument of the sacrifices of all those who carried the torch of freedom and democracy long before us; the likes of Dr. kizza besigye, Dr. Kawanga Ssemogerere, and many others.
“I thank our team at Parliament and other leaders on whose account we have received the resources we needed to achieve this. I also thank our Secretary General comrade David Rubongoya and your team at the Secretariat who have toiled day and – literally – night to make our dream of these new headquarters a reality. In a special way, I want to thank comrade Dr. for gracefully accepting to attend and speak at the launch as our chief guest. “Hon. Kyagulanyi said.
“The heavy sacrifices you have made for the last over 20 years in pushing back against Mr. Museveni’s dictatorship are the reason many of us felt challenged and inspired to equally rise up against the Museveni tyranny.
In the same measure, thank you Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, Hon. Miria Matembe, Counsel Nicholas Opiyo, Mr. Saddam Gayira, Mr. Harold Kaija and other distinguished guests for sparing time to stand in solidarity with us today. We are truly humbled. ” Bobi Wine cited.
