The National Unity Platform (NUP) has written to the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) requesting that its Acting President, Dr Lina Zedriga Waru, be allowed to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on behalf of the party as it moves to formally join the inter-party framework.
In a letter dated June 18, NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya said the party remains committed to the principles and objectives of IPOD and is ready to proceed with admission formalities even as party president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu is currently out of the country.
“I write to formally express the National Unity Platform’s interest in joining the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue and signing the Memorandum of Understanding thereof… In accordance with our Party Constitution, the Acting President, Dr Lina Zedriga Waru, is duly mandated to carry out all functions of the office of Party President, including executing the said instruments. She is readily available to do the same,” Rubongoya stated.
The communication follows an earlier response from IPOD Executive Director Dr Lawrence Sserwambala Kabagabe, who indicated that the Council of Secretaries General had in principle accepted NUP’s request to join the dialogue platform but noted that the party had not yet formally submitted a written expression of interest.
“Whereas the Party has publicly expressed interest in joining IPOD, the Secretariat has not received any explicit and formal written expression of interest… the Council resolved to forward and recommend, in principle, the admission of the National Unity Platform into IPOD, subject to the submission of a formal written expression of interest,” the letter read in part.
Dr Sserwambala further emphasized that, in line with the IPOD Memorandum of Understanding, the final signing of admission instruments must be done personally by the party president in the presence of the Secretary General during the official summit.
“The Council expects that the President of the party, in the presence of the Secretary General, and not any delegated representative, shall personally execute the admission instruments,” the letter added.
Rubongoya also attached correspondence showing that Kyagulanyi had extended Dr Zedriga’s mandate as Acting President for one month, citing his continued stay in the United States following the January 2026 general election. Kyagulanyi reportedly left the country amid alleged threats to his life.
NUP’s move marks a notable shift in its longstanding position on IPOD. The party had previously dismissed participation in the dialogue platform, arguing it risked legitimizing the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) and President Yoweri Museveni’s extended stay in power.
However, that position changed following amendments to the Political Parties and Organisations Act, which tied government funding for political parties to membership in IPOD. Subsequently, NUP lost its annual Shs 5 billion funding from the Electoral Commission, a disbursement previously determined by parliamentary representation.
Historically, the NRM has maintained the largest share of political party funding due to its parliamentary majority.
The IPOD Secretariat is now expected to finalize arrangements for NUP’s admission ahead of the forthcoming summit, where the party leadership is expected to formalize its participation.
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