DP Bloc Drags Mpuuga into 2026 Presidential Race

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DP Bloc Drags Mpuuga into 2026 Presidential Race
Mathias Mpuuga Courtesy Photo

A group of Democratic Party (DP) exiles crawling back into Uganda's oldest political organisation as a "bloc" has doodled Mathias Mpuuga's name on a draft 2026 presidential election ballot paper.

The faction, led by former Makindye East MP Michael Mabikke and People Power co-founder and activist Samuel Walter Lubega Mukaaku, say Nyendo-Mukungwe MP Mpuuga is the right man for the Opposition in the central region.

The endorsement was made in Mr Mpuuga's absence at a vibrant event in Namirembe, Kampala.

Mabikke has previously quit DP and formed the Social Democratic Party that failed to take off while Mr Mpuuga, who has spent the better part of this year weathering a storm about his conduct as a former Leader of the Opposition, had left the same party to join the National Unity Platform.

Mr Mpuuga was not available for the comment on the endorsement but he last evening called a media briefing due today to address issues he did not specify.

It is expected he will pronounce himself on the matter.

However, the wheels appears to be in motion and Mpuuga's return to DP - albeit as a faction - looks certain after his fallout with Robert Kyagulanyi and NUP led to his suspension from the biggest Opposition party in the country.

Supporters and members from various districts in the central region were transported to the event, many of whom wore T-shirts and dresses emblazoned with Mpuuga’s portrait.

They expressed disappointment with NUP leader Robert Kyagulanyi's leadership, which they claim has failed the opposition.

“We started People Power with Kyagulanyi, and we made him who he is, but now he has turned his back on us, choosing to collaborate with NRM-affiliated politicians. This is a betrayal,” said a disgruntled Moses Mbowa, a former Rubaga Division councillor who served under the NUP ticket.

Henry Lubowa echoed these sentiments, stating, “Kyagulanyi is heartless. We as the opposition stood by him, but he no longer stands by us. That’s not the mark of a good leader.”

The DP bloc, which originally supported Kyagulanyi, is now rallying behind Mpuuga for the 2026 presidential election.

“He is well-groomed, a people person, and respectful, unlike Kyagulanyi,” added Mbowa.

Leaders of the DP Bloc, including Mabikke and Mukaaku, also voiced their concerns about the leadership gap within Uganda's opposition. They called for unity and urged the DP to prepare for the 2026 elections.

“You are the ones who can save the situation. Stay united, work together, and take DP back to its rightful place, whether with Mpuuga or another leader,” said Mukaaku.

Mr Mpuuga, who crossed from the DP Bloc to NUP ahead of the 2021 elections, was appointed Vice President for the Central Region and later Leader of the Opposition.

However, his relationship with NUP has since deteriorated amid allegations of corruption.

The idea behind propping up of Mpuuga appear to be well-calculated by a group of wheeler-dealers who fell out with Mr Kyagulanyi whom they say owes his political collars to their own nurturing and influence.

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