National Unity Platform (NUP) councillors at the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) have accused their party president, Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, of coercing them into approving businessman Hamis Kigundu’s controversial proposal to develop the Nakivubo drainage channel.
The councillors, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, claim that Kigundu, commonly known as Ham, paid a “huge amount of money” to the NUP president. They allege that Bobi Wine then directly instructed the party’s councillors to ensure the proposal was approved without objection.
“The truth is that we were not in favour of handing over a public drainage channel to a private individual for commercial development, but we received a direct order from the top. The party president [Bobi Wine] called us and forced us to approve it. He presented it as a party directive, and dissent was not an option,” one visibly agitated councillor stated.
The councillors are agitated that their party wants to offer them as a sacrificial lamb following the public backlash against the project, which critics say risks worsening urban flooding.
Joel Ssenyonyi, the NUP spokesperson, on Wednesday, 20th August 2025, announced that the party would investigate its councillors. “We are going to talk to our councillors. If anyone is found guilty of connivance, they will face disciplinary action,” Ssenyonyi said.
However, Ssenyonyi’s remarks have been met with fury from councillors who feel betrayed. They accuse Ssenyonyi and the party leadership of offering them up as “sacrificial lambs” to shield higher-ranking figures.
“If Ssenyonyi wants to summon anyone about the Nakivubo channel, he should summon the party president who told us to approve the proposal,” one councillor hit back. “NUP knows exactly who met with Ham. Why are they pretending?”
The scandal is another stain on NUP’s reputation as an anti-corruption alternative. The allegations arrive amid ongoing scrutiny of NUP officials, including previous claims that Ssenyonyi himself received a 1.7 billion shilling bribe during his tenure as chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee.
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