The Wednesday 14 cruel raid on the National Unity Platform headquarters by security forces has since dominated local and international news headlines.
Behind the scenes however, a pertinent issue came up for discussion with some insiders insisting that the ugly raid seems to have been coordinated by a person or people from within the Kamwokya based establishment.
NUP parliamentary flag bearer for Kawempe North Muhammad Ssegirinya in particular argued that there was need for the Robert Kyagulanyi led party to sniff out spies who he insisted must have helped the state apparatus with information that led to the impromptu attack on their high command.
Just over a month ago, President Yoweri Museveni openly confessed to planting spies within the opposition to help him know the movements and plans of his critics.
“Yes, we have our agents in the opposition who get us information but I have to deploy them. Now, when I see [NRM people] there [in the opposition] without my instructions, I wonder who has sent them or what has taken them there,” Museveni said as he addressed a meeting of NRM politicians at Kakyeeka stadium in Mbarara following chaotic party primaries.
NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya would around the same time admit knowledge of the existence of such spies within the ranks of the party, insisting they already knew who they were and plans were under way to sniff them out.
“We need to understand that in Uganda one of the most lucrative businesses is called Bobi Wine. Through him, all people have gotten all sorts of favours from the state because he is the worst enemy to the state and at the same time the best friend to many of these people who want quick money. That is why you see a lot of them coming and taking pictures with him so that the following day they use them to trick the state into ‘buying’ them and because we are in a decadent system whose aim is to keep in power they will just dish out money without any principles followed,” Rubongoya said.
Taking the Secretary General’s words into account in relation to yesterday’s grizzly of the party along with the president’s confession, the need to clean up the ranks of the Country’s youngest party becomes an absolutely urgent necessity.
The challenge for the Kyagulanyi group would be on how to identify who the real spies are and how to discern them from the genuine followers.
Former regime supporters have in the past been targeted for isolationist attacks branding them regime agents which has on most occasions brewed discontent amongst the different opposition forces.
It’s publicly known that NUP has got a number of former regime allies in it’s top management positions such as Rubongoya, Former Kampala RCC Aisha Kabanda, Bobi Wine’s brother Fred Nyanzi among others.
In FDC, former party President Gen Mugisha Muntu was eternally branded a regime agent within the party majorly due to his moderate brand of activism and a career in Museveni’s army as Army Commander.
Four time Presidential Candidate Col Dr Kizza Besigye has of late come under fire from especially Kyagulanyi’s People Power supporters who have variously accused him of working backstage with Museveni to keep the ruling regime in power as he dupes the public.
Whereas suspicion on former Museveni allies within opposition can be hard to root out completely depending on members’ earlier links to the government, to crucify them might not be a good idea in the end as innocent souls could fall victim.
Besides, government has all the ability and resources to recruit new members into opposition ranks with completely no prior relationship with it.
Regardless of the challenges, one thing remains for a fact; The effectiveness with which Kamwokya responds to the attack on it’s headquarters and the spy claims will go a long way in determining the group’s long term existence and success.
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