The National Unity Platform (NUP) has distanced itself from remarks by its former Masaka City Woman MP candidate Rose Nalubowa, who admitted meeting President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni after the elections, claiming that 12 other party members also attended similar meetings.
In a statement dated November 7, 2026, NUP said it was neither consulted nor informed about the meeting between Nalubowa and President Museveni, whom the candidate said had summoned her after the elections.
“Our attention has been brought to comments made by Hon. Rose Nalubowa by which she stated that she met with Gen. Yoweri Museveni, who according to her, summoned her after elections,” the party said.
“We wish to clarify that as a Party we were never consulted on this matter, and were not aware of any such meeting.”
The remarks have triggered debate among opposition supporters, some of whom questioned why an opposition politician would meet the President privately while other NUP leaders and supporters faced arrests and other difficulties.
Nalubowa reportedly said 12 other members of the opposition party had also met President Museveni, although she did not provide further details about their identities or the circumstances of the meetings.
Her political rival, Justine Nameere, the State Minister for Local Government and current Masaka City Woman MP, also weighed in on the controversy.
Nameere previously said she had accompanied Nalubowa and her husband to meet President Museveni as part of efforts to reconcile the two politicians and present their grievances to him.
The two politicians have been involved in a prolonged electoral dispute over the Masaka City Woman MP seat following the January 2026 general elections.
The Electoral Commission initially declared Nalubowa, who contested on the NUP ticket, the winner with 25,443 votes against Nameere’s 20,324.
However, a subsequent recount overturned the result and declared Nameere the winner. Nalubowa challenged the outcome in the High Court, but Justice Bernard Namanya upheld Nameere’s victory on October 21, 2026, dismissing the petition.
Nalubowa subsequently announced plans to appeal the decision.
The latest revelations have added another dimension to the political rivalry, with NUP’s statement seeking to establish that the reported engagement with President Museveni was not conducted on behalf of the party.
The party has not, in its November 7 statement, indicated whether it intends to take disciplinary action against Nalubowa over the meeting.
