The Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) has yielded to pressure and accepted to sign the agreement with the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue(IPOD) .
This is contradicts NUP earlier stance that the party will not sign the MoU as required under the new law governing IPOD members .
In a statement released Wednesday, NUP said the decision followed amendments to the Political Parties and Organisations Act that made membership in either IPOD or the Forum for Non-Represented Political Parties mandatory for all registered political parties.
“As we await the decision of the Constitutional Court, the National Unity Platform has decided to sign the current Memorandum of Understanding since it is already a member of the applicable constitutive organ by conscription of the law,” the party stated.
The party said it had filed a constitutional petition challenging the process and content of the amendment, accusing the government of enacting the law “without consultation” to “target and cripple” NUP.
“Already, the Electoral Commission is using this law to discriminate against and cripple the operations of the National Unity Platform,” the statement added.
President Museveni assented to the amendment in June 2025, which ties access to the Shs3.1 billion political parties’ fund to IPOD participation. Under the previous framework, NUP received about Shs800 million annually ,but risked losing it after refusing to join IPOD.
Jailed deputy NUP spokesperson Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro had earlier remarked:
“To hell with their IPOD money. We will not participate in IPOD, we will not engage in forceful dialogues. We are not driven by funding but by the determination to end this tyrannical rule.”
NUP suffers social media backlash
NUP’s latest stand has triggered a storm on social media platforms with a section of Ugandans saying they are only targeting the IPOD money to finance their presidential campaigns.
“NUP has finally yielded to Museveni’s IPOD money trap,” tweeted Abbas Kazibwe, while PriEst mocked, “Aren’t you the ones fighting the government that you now want funds from? Everything is zig-zag in this Ugandan opposition.”
Another user, Global Investigator, defended the move: “That is our money, not Gen. Museveni’s money.”
Political commentator Ninki Kenneth reasoned :
“Please @NUP_Ug, be honest and tell your supporters that Parliament amended the law to fund only parties that are members of IPOD