Ssenyonyi’s agenda as Leader of Opposition

New LoP highlights justice for missing persons and NUP’s desire to take over power 

Kampala, Uganda | IAN KATUSIIME | Nakawa West MP Joel Ssenyonyi took office as the Leader of Opposition on Jan.9, starting a journey that will see the first-term MP steer the Opposition agenda into the 2026 elections. Ssenyonyi’s plate is full; checking government corruption, advocating for the human rights of Ugandans, and championing the interests of his party; the National Unity Platform (NUP), while also keeping a coherent agenda for the Opposition in general.

At his first press conference, Ssenyonyi stressed the issue of missing persons. “If this issue of missing persons is left the way it is, the government will take it as a tactic it can deploy and therefore we will bring it back,” he said.

Ssenyonyi pointed out NUP’s ultimate goal as capturing power. “We want to take over government, we want to continuously sample Ugandans and show them that we have what it takes to lead this country,” he said. “Besides us retaining our seats…We don’t want to be in opposition forever.”

NUP has 59 seats in parliament in the 2021 election, and its president Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine polled 3.6million votes coming second to President Yoweri Museveni in a high-stakes election that took place in the middle of the pandemic. Ssenyonyi is taking office with the hope of securing more seats in parliament for his party’s legislators and capturing the State House in 2026.

But there are tricky situations the energetic new LoP will navigate that could make or break him. The office comes with the trappings of power that usually pit its bearers against their backers: the party that nominates them. Being LoP comes with an office in which the occupant has the leeway to staff as they wish, a budget, a motorcade and other privileges associated with running parliament.

The LoP office has a budget of Shs3.6bn in the current financial year 2023/2024. Last year it had a Shs4.5bn kitty according to parliament documents. Despite the reduction, the budget is still a substantive one by any measure. In the past, those in the office of the LoP have tended to draw criticism from their backyard over complaints that they were getting too comfortable in their positions.

However, a binge on government spending means the former spokesperson of NUP has his work cut out.

In December, Parliament spent billions of taxpayers’ money on five fuel guzzlers for former Speakers of the House causing widespread anger. A day after former LoP Mathias Mpuuga handed over to Ssenyonyi, the Ministry of Public Service was seeking Shs7bn to buy luxurious cars for former vice president Edward Sekandi, former Prime Ministers Amama Mbabazi, Ruhakana Rugunda as part of their emolument benefits, reported Parliament Watch, a monitoring tool of the House.

The development sparked more anger and frustration as the public bears the brunt of an overspending government in a poor country. However, the office of the LoP has been like a poisoned chalice due to its material benefits. Mpuuga, MP for Nyendo-Mukungwe, often came under fire from the NUP rank if no action was seen to be done on other critical issues like the plight of missing persons, supporters in jail or if there was a feeling of concession to the government.

Unlike Mpuuga, Ssenyonyi comes to the office as a member of the original NUP which gives him leverage since NUP is the largest opposition party in the House. Ssenyonyi has been loyal to NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine since the latter appointed him spokesperson of the People Party Movement in 2019 and throughout the transition to NUP and as an opposition party with nearly sixty legislators in parliament.

As Mpuuga’s term came to an end, Ssenyonyi became a shoo-in for the position as the NUP leadership planned to replace Mpuuga. As happened, Ssenyonyi got the job and Mpuuga was assigned to the Parliament Commission.

Mpuuga, who coordinated Walk-to-Work protests under Activists for Change (A4C), after the 2011 election was treated with suspicion by NUP because he was from the Democratic Party (DP) coalition that crossed over to NUP in the nick of time for the 2021 election. Mpuuga is a three-term MP known for his eloquence and poise. He was part of the Uganda Young Democrats (UYD), the vibrant youth wing of the DP that was renowned for political mobilisation in places like Makerere University.

On the supposed rift between Mpuuga who represents the old opposition and the one led by Kyagulanyi, Ssenyonyi while appearing on NTV’s On The Spot show attributed the speculation to the rare occurrence of people handing over offices in Uganda.

Mostly renowned politicians who had been in parliament for more than two terms, members of the DP bloc were seen as freeloaders who did not share the same allegiance to NUP’s agenda of looking for justice for the thousands of supporters jailed and killed during the 2021 election and in subsequent protests and arrests.

Mpuuga’s appointment to the Commission also demonstrated the delicate balancing act NUP has carried out as a party loyalist; Mityana Municipality Francis Zaake, was initially a Parliament Commissioner until a fallout with Speaker of Parliament Anita Among cost him the position.

Political Transition

An MP who did not wish to be quoted told The Independent that Ssenyonyi should focus on the “political transition” as the country heads for the seventh election under President Museveni. Talk is swirling that the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) could be planning a constitutional amendment to have the parliament elect the president since the party has a strong majority in the House.

Other MPs think the change was uncalled for. “I don’t think the change needed to be made. I raised it in the last cabinet. We told the appointing authority to stay any change given the season and challenges confronting the nation,” said Atkins Katusabe, MP for Bukonjo County West.

Katusabe said that with the emerging issues, Mpuuga was better placed to stay on for the sake of stability, sustainability, clarity and precision.

“Fine the change was made but I doubt there was a collective endorsement because of the issues we have been involved in altogether,” he told The Independent. He argues that by the time the new LoP puts a team together to ensure full coordination, time will be quickly spent not to mention the lack of patience from other MPs waiting for the new team to function as a unit.

However, Katusabe had some advice for Ssenyonyi. “We need to rank our priorities because we cannot be all over the place.”

With just two years to the next election, Ssenyonyi has a lot to bank on. NUP is just returning from a banner year where it registered several milestones. The party had a rousing tour that energised thousands of party faithful across the country.

NUP launched new offices in Makerere Kavulu which gives it leverage for political mobilisation and administration as it enters another critical phase ahead of the elections. The NUP offices in Makerere have become a rallying point for all those demanding for the release of their loved ones from the government For Ssenyonyi, it looks set to be a defining issue of his tenure since he has no divided loyalties.

The party has also attracted Dr Kizza Besigye and Erias Lukwago—two colossal political figures who have now distanced themselves from their party; the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). The real test of Ssenyonyi’s reign may be at the start of the presidential campaigns depending on how many candidates the party is fielding for over 1000 electable positions across the country.