Buikwe South Member of Parliament, Dr. Michael Lulume Bayiga, has defended his decision to join the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) instead of the National Unity Platform (NUP), describing NUP as a party dominated by “hooligans” who do not value intellect.
Bayiga defected to PFF on July 5, 2025, after losing the Democratic Party’s presidential race to Norbert Mao during the party’s Delegates’ Conference in Mbarara the previous month.
Speaking on a local radio station on July 29, Bayiga responded to critics who questioned why he left the Democratic Party (DP) and opted for PFF instead of NUP, which enjoys significant popularity in his constituency and Buganda at large.
The legislator, who is also a doctor, stated that joining NUP would be beneath his intellectual standing. “As a doctor, I would be demeaning myself and my intellect to join a party where being educated is a crime,” Bayiga said.
He added that “my friend Mathias Mpuuga was chased from NUP for speaking good English and wearing suits. How can I join such an entity where intellect is not valued?”
Bayiga further claimed that NUP has mistreated members who defected from DP, particularly those with political experience. He accused NUP leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, of favouring inexperienced supporters over seasoned politicians.
“Bobi Wine prefers ignorant ghetto boys who know nothing about politics, people who will do anything he tells them without question. I can’t stand that,” he said.
Addressing the issue of NUP’s alleged strong support in Buganda and Buikwe in particular, Bayiga dismissed the notion that the party still holds influence, arguing that its influence was merely a passing trend.
“The NUP, or People Power wave, was there in 2021. People blindly followed the wave, not the ideas. Now that the wave has passed, people will be looking for substance, and NUP doesn’t have any,” he asserted.
Bayiga’s remarks highlight the deepening fractures within Uganda’s opposition, as political infighting takes precedence over challenging the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM). With new parties emerging and opposition leaders increasingly turning against each other, their divisions are only strengthening the NRM’s dominance in Uganda’s political landscape.
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