Bugiri Municipality MP and president of the Justice and Equality Movement (JEEMA) Asuman Basalirwa has broken his silence on the icy fallout with National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Bobi Wine.
Bobi Wine played a key role in Basalirwa’s by-election victory that propelled him into Parliament. Yet, the NUP boss was later stunned during a Bugiri visit, where he publicly disavowed Basalirwa—accusing him of betraying the opposition cause and demanding his ouster in favor of an NUP candidate.
Appearing on Sanyuka TV’s morning show with host Adam Kungu, Basalirwa fired back, declaring he no longer recognizes the man he once knew. He lamented that Bobi Wine no longer consults him or his JEEMA colleagues on national affairs or politics as he once did. “Ask my children—Bobi Wine was a frequent visitor to my home. He used to invite me to Magere now and then,” Basalirwa said. “He is not the Bobi Wine we knew in Kyadondo,” he added, attributing the change to Bobi Wine’s ego surge after founding a political party and mounting a presidential bid.
Basalirwa expressed particular shock over Bobi Wine’s recent BBC interview, where the singer-turned-politician alleged that Basalirwa was colluding with President Yoweri Museveni to sabotage NUP’s agenda—specifically tying it to Basalirwa’s sponsorship of the controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill.
When Basalirwa confronted him about the remarks, Bobi Wine’s response was swift and final: he blocked his phone number.
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