Daudi Kabanda has criticized Uganda’s opposition, arguing that it cannot effectively perform its role while its party leader is outside the country.
Speaking to journalists, Kabanda said the opposition’s leadership is weakened when its top leader is absent, adding that efforts are underway to challenge the current leadership of the opposition in Parliament.
“You can’t be in the opposition at the top when your party president has run away. Then you claim to be in the opposition in Parliament, where we are also going to remove the Leader of the Opposition,” Kabanda said.
Although he did not mention anyone by name in the quoted remarks, the comments appeared to reference the leader of the National Unity Platform (NUP) Robert Kyagulanyi who has been outside Uganda in recent weeks, and the current Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, Joel Ssenyonyi.
Kabanda, who is associated with the Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), said the group was looking forward to having a new Leader of the Opposition following Parliament’s decision to allow Buyaga West MP Dennis Namara to introduce a Private Member’s Bill seeking amendments to the Administration of Parliament Act.
The proposed changes have sparked debate over the future of the opposition leadership position in Parliament, with critics questioning whether the move could alter the current arrangement.
Kabanda’s remarks come amid heightened political tensions between National Resistance Movement (NRM) and the opposition over governance, security and parliamentary leadership.
The comments are likely to fuel further political debate, as opposition leaders have maintained that temporary travel by party officials does not affect their constitutional mandate or their role in holding the government accountable.