National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has urged public servants to safeguard their integrity, warning that government positions are temporary while personal reputations endure.
In response to Uganda Human Rights Commission( UHRC) chairperson, Mariam Wangadya’s resignation, Kyagulanyi said her departure should serve as a reminder to officials entrusted with public authority.
"Offices are temporary but reputations are permanent. Power expires. Titles disappear. Official protection ends. What remains is your name, your conscience, and the legacy of the choices you made while you had authority," Kyagulanyi said.
In a July, 6 letter to President Museveni, Wangadya notified the appointing authority of her resignation ending her tenure at the country's constitutional human rights watchdog amid escalating internal disputes and days after delivering an extraordinary public critique of the institution's leadership and appointment process.
She told Nile Post that she resigned over what she described as a "toxic work environment" within the Commission.
Her resignation comes less than a week after she launched one of the strongest public criticisms yet of how commissioners to the UHRC are appointed.
The explosive moment came during a media briefing at which Wangadya accused the appointing authority of treating the Commission as a refuge for political failures and financially distressed individuals rather than an independent constitutional institution.
"You seem to treat the UHRC as a dumping ground for individuals who have been rejected by the electorate, or as a place to reward those who have persistently complained about poverty, financial hardship, or even their inability to afford medical treatment and ARVs," Wangadya said.
She warned that appointments based on political patronage rather than merit were weakening the Commission's ability to fulfil its constitutional mandate.
"How do you appoint people without credibility and expect them to strengthen this institution?"
In a statement on Monday, Kyagulanyi urged public servants to always reflect on the consequences of decisions that may undermine the rights and freedoms of Ugandans.
"Before accepting the role of persecuting, silencing, or oppressing fellow Ugandans for political survival or personal gain, ask yourself one question: What will remain when the office and the power are gone?" he said.
Kyagulanyi further claimed that officials who help sustain the current government are not guaranteed protection indefinitely.
He argued that Wangadya’s resignation was part of a broader pattern where officials are appointed to serve political interests but later lose support when they are no longer considered useful.
