Deputy President of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) for Western Uganda and former Kasese Municipality MP, Robert Centenary, has denied any involvement in a recent meeting between opposition legislators and President Museveni at State House, Entebbe.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with NBS Television on Monday, Centenary said he neither attended nor had prior knowledge of the meeting, calling reports linking him to the delegation “false and misleading.”
“I cannot explain how a meeting that I never attended went. The first person to inform me was a journalist from CBS FM,” Centenary said, adding that he had been in Kasese rearing goats since November.
He even offered Shs10 million to anyone who could provide a photo proving his attendance.
While distancing himself, Centenary clarified that engagement with the government is not inherently wrong, but it must be structured, collective, and institutionally sanctioned through platforms like the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) and the National Consultative Forum.
He warned that secretive engagements risk undermining trust within opposition parties.
Centenary said that any invitation from State House would be considered based on its nature: if it is party-sanctioned, it must go through official channels; if personal, he would evaluate it individually.
He emphasized that leaders must engage inclusively for national development while remaining principled.
The remarks follow a high-level meeting led by Mawokota South MP Yusuf Nsibambi, which included legislators from FDC, DP, PFF, and former MPs.
Nsibambi said the discussions focused on national stability, peace, reconciliation, and political prisoners, including an appeal to pardon detainees and investigate the detention of NUP’s Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi.
Some opposition figures criticized the meeting for lack of broader consultation, though Nsibambi defended his actions as independent and in the national interest.
