KAMPALA.
Former Leader of Oposition also Nyendo-Mukungwe MP, Mathias Mpuuga, has threatened to sue National Unity Platform (NUP) principal Robert Kyagulanyi and Makindye West MP Allan Ssewanyana for allegedly defamation .
According to Mpuuga ,also parliamentary commissioner the two leaders defamed him him during press briefing at the party headquarters in Kavule , Kampala May 6, 2025,.
Mr Kyagulanyi and Mr Ssewanyana are said to have made comments connecting Mr Mpuuga to the arrest and detention of Mr Ssewanayana and former Kawempe North MP, the late Muhammad Ssegirinya.
Mr Mpuuga, a former NUP deputy president Buganda Region, said Mr Kyagulanyi has turned him into a political punching bag –something he will not tolerate .
“But I have left him time and space to whine and complain and compose poems and songs about me because I knew that his effort is a business. I believe he has done enough business out of me,” Mr Mpuuga said while addressing Journalists in Kampala on Wednesday
According to Mr Mpuuga, who has since quit NUP and formed Democratic Alliance (DA), a political movement,where he serves as national coordinator Mr Kyagulanyi and Mr Ssewanya made particular reference to the murders that took place in Masaka from 2020 and 2021.
“He made reference to the fact that he’s aware. He was informed that myself and other colleagues from Masaka were a part of. Of course, when I heard it, my mind skipped a bit. But I had a quick recollection of myself.” he added.
It’s upon this background that Mr Mpuuga says he has instructed his lawyers to file a case of defamation against the duo .
“For us to be able to settle some of these issues, Mr Kyagulanyi and Mr Ssewanyana, we shall meet in court. Probably we will be helped by the court and the families that are demanding justice to come to court, as they know, because they seem to know a bit about what happened in Masaka. I think the best place for them to let the nation understand it better is the court. So, I wish them luck,” he said.
Mr Ssewanyana and Ssegirinya were arrested and detained alongside other people accused of being behind the spate of killings in Masaka Sub-region that left about 26 residents killed between July and September 2021.
On February 13, 2023, the Masaka High Court judge Lawrence Tweyanze released Kawempe North MP Ssegirinya (now deceased) and his Makindye West counterpart Ssewanyana after spending 524 days on remand following their alleged involvement in the killing of over 20 people in Masaka sub region during the infamous machete attacks in the area in mid-2021.
Unfortunately, Ssegirinya, who has been bedridden ever since he was released from jail, passed away last week and was buried on January 12.
Justice Tweyanze granted the two MPs bail to enable them have access to medical treatment due to their deteriorating health conditions.
A day after the release of the duo, Mr Mpuuga, came out and distanced himself from any negotiations that resulted in releasing the two legislators.
“As people who were in court, us [politicians] or lawyers were not involved[in negotiations ] ,if there were negotiations, that person who negotiated should come out ,if we are to give him a red carpet and praise him ,let him come out and say I am the one who negotiated , ” Mpuuga said then
He also went ahead and threatened to sue Daily Monitor newspaper which had run a story in its February 14, 2023 edition under the deadline “How MPs got freedom” ,emphasising that there were secret talks to secure release of the two MPs.
Daily Monitor investigations revealed that the talks were powered by Parliament’s top leadership and in which Mr Mpuuga , then Leader of Opposition played a key role reportedly without the knowledge of National Unity Platform(NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi’s purview.
But during a parallel send-off for Ssegirinya organised by Mr Mpuuga and Parliament at Butale Cell in Masaka City on January 12 , Mr Mpuuga said he played a pivotal role in ensuring that the two legislators regain their freedom.
“….when I went to visit our brothers in prison, I requested to talk to them in a special way as a leader and I was allowed. Ssegirinya said ‘My leader, I have been overwhelmed by the poor prison conditions and I feel I may die in prison’.
I counseled and gave him hope that he would not die. Somehow I got confused, but after our conversation, I talked to authorities who said they would allow him to go and receive treatment from outside,” he said.
The release of the duo where each paid a cash bail of Shs20m came after two attempts to secure bail through court had failed. The two MPs denied the charges and the case is still in court.
But in an interview with our sister station, NTV in January , Mr Mpuuga clarified that the negotiations he brokered were with “prison authorities.”
“My talk with prison authorities was to ensure that Ssegirinya gets out of jail and receive treatment .
I had to talk to them [prison authorities ] and they accepted because giving him proper treatment within prison wasn’t possible , on the issue of granting them bail ,I think that happened in full glare of cameras ,they had already spent over 180days in jail which violates the constitution .’’