The National Unity Platform has formally applied to join the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue, marking a major shift from its earlier rejection of the forum.
NUP, Uganda’s leading opposition party, had for years said it would not join IPOD. The party argued that the platform had been used to legitimise the ruling National Resistance Movement and President Yoweri Museveni’s long rule.
However, the party softened its position after amendments to the Political Parties and Organisations Act. The changes made IPOD membership a requirement for political parties to receive government funding.
As a result, NUP lost about Shs5 billion it had been receiving annually through the Electoral Commission.
Government funding for political parties is shared according to their representation in Parliament. The NRM has historically received the biggest share because of its parliamentary majority.
Rubongoya Writes to IPOD
In a letter dated June 18, NUP secretary general David Lewis Rubongoya formally informed IPOD of the party’s intention to join.
Rubongoya said NUP was ready to sign the organisation’s Memorandum of Understanding, despite the absence of party president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu.
“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. As stated in our previous correspondence, the party is committed to the principles, objectives, and obligations of IPOD as contained in the MOU,” Rubongoya wrote.
Rubongoya asked the IPOD secretariat to allow acting party president Dr Lina Zedriga Waru to sign the admission documents on behalf of NUP.
Kyagulanyi has been in the United States since shortly after the January 2026 general election, citing threats to his life.
Rubongoya attached a letter in which Kyagulanyi extended Zedriga’s mandate as acting party president for another month.
IPOD Says Formal Application Was Required
Rubongoya’s letter followed earlier communication from IPOD executive director Dr Lawrence Sserwambala Kabagabe.
Sserwambala had informed NUP that the Council of Secretaries General had accepted the party’s request to join the organisation.
However, he noted that although NUP had publicly expressed interest in joining IPOD, the secretariat had not received a formal written application.
“During its deliberations, the Council noted that, whereas the party has publicly expressed interest in joining IPOD, the secretariat has not received any explicit and formal written expression of interest but a writing that subtly conjectures the same from the party,” Sserwambala wrote.
He said NUP would be admitted at the next IPOD summit once the formal expression of interest was received.
Signing Requirement May Delay Admission
Sserwambala also cited the IPOD Memorandum of Understanding, which requires the party president to personally sign admission instruments in the presence of the secretary general.
“In accordance with the IPOD Memorandum of Understanding, 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 and commit the party to the principles, objectives and obligations of IPOD during the signing ceremony,” he wrote.
The requirement could become a key issue for NUP because Kyagulanyi is currently outside the country.
NUP’s application marks a significant political turn for a party that had long criticised IPOD. It also highlights the growing impact of public funding rules on Uganda’s political parties.
