Kunga is an euphemism coached in local lingua to mean mobilization. Kunga in central region doesn’t only denote mobilization but also an act of defiance to sort out the unwanted. The plan looks an innocent act of calling the masses into the NUP fold, but scratching beneath the surface reveals an intricate scheme to weed out some characters that seem to outsmart and overshadow the “Pulinsipo”, a corrupted slang for principal Bobi Wine.
This schism has for a long time been simmering right from the inception of the party, but because it started as a wave, its whirlwind successes overshadowed the scrutiny of its internal fragility. Members had no time for internal introspection, test pressure points, scrutinize leadership styles, and adopt best political party practices. At some point it tended towards a cultic following, where the pulinsipo was always right and whoever dared to question his actions had to be banished. This is the point where the likes of Mukaku, latiff, Nsereko were declared outlaws for raising concern over the leadership style where no one questions any policy agenda in the party.
It is at this point, the Kunga scheme comes in handy to weed out those who right from the start, were seen as a stumbling block in the scheme of things.
Kunga falls under the docket of mobilization headed by Nyanzi the elder brother of Bobi Wine. For some time his abrasive leadership style has been questioned, but because he is close to the boss, these negative undertones have been hushed. His action to kick start the kunga in the Masaka region provided an opportunity to the hitherto silent decent to come to the fore. Open defiance to his Kunga shenanigans has brought out sentiments about two factions within NUP.
One faction comprises of people who are seen as joyriders, these are people who seized the opportunity of the people power wave and got elected to positions that ideally would not have got in a normal electoral setting. It is a group that has devisively been referred to as the “article” lot. They are the politically grounded lot, who have been in the trenches of opposition politics, educated with academic credentials to their names and a general public stature to behold.
They are quick to invoke articles of the law to justify their actions and are suave in courts of law affairs to seek redress or engage the public in intellectual discourse. They are despised by the other lot that seeks to resolve issues of the day by raw methods.
They are seen as not representative enough of the original ideal of people power “ kiggwa leero” a veiled mantra of sorting out any issue now and then by whatever means. Being an intellectual lot that weighs the odds, they prefer engagement, discussions and consensus, something that grinds against the grain of the other lot. This team comprises of people like Mpuga, Bwanika, Nambooze and others who look at a political party as an aggregate of varying ideas. In NUP they are seen as outsiders though they hold the political clout that makes it relevant.
The other lot is a composition of the riffraff, the wretched of earth and reactional cabal. Reason is a rare commodity, they act before they think, and to them people power means force and areready to act without weighing the consequences. Unfortunately, it is real hard to divorce Bobi Wine from the ghetto psyche of this lot. What and how he acts, renders a blurred or thin line between a statesman and a goon. His utterances and actions leave some of his supporters baffled. It is this lot that is behind the Kunga scheme, to weed out those seen as impostors in the people power glib. The Masaka debacle is a well-orchestrated plot to kick out the “articles” from the grassroots through party structures. It is at this point that the push is coming to shove.
The “articles” group was quick to read mischief and sent the Nyanzi team packing from Masaka and unilaterally declared that the Kunga team that was sent has to leave summarily. From the insiders, the plot to replace the likes of Mpuuga with Florence Namayanja and Bwanika requires depriving them of the home tuff structures that ultimately will deny them the party card.
It should be noted, that right from the start, the “article” group has never accepted Bobi wine as a worthwhile leader capable of leading them. They only look at him as an effigy to scare government without a viable plan to oust it. By whatever imagination of stature and intellectual might, Bobi Wine is eons apart. The inner circles of NUP know this too well, that is why they have come out openly to defy the directive against Nyanzi and warning dire consequences if they dare set foot in Masaka. Dr Bwanika has publicly declared Masaka a no go zone for Kunga and Nyanzi has nothing he can do apart from licking his wounds.
Political commentators aver that this schism between the goons and intellectuals will be the Waterloo of NUP come 2026. The feeling that all must dance to the whims of Bobi Wine without flinching is likely to split the party middle down. Nyanzi isn’t a pushover, he will need to exert his authority that will run in headwinds. It is a delicate balance, because without the intellectual wing, NUP suffers a visibility crisis. A party cannot be viewed through crude violent lenses without a calming agent in sight. Unfortunately, for Nyanzi and his coterie, the timing is wrong, it’s a long way to 2026 for one to scheme undetected, unless a compromise is struck soon.
Listening to the airwaves, it is clear both sides are digging in, with Nyanzi asserting that individual wishes are subordinate to party decisions and the other side emphasasing that politics is local, they must have a say on the formation of grassroots structures and not an imposition from the top. It is a battle of the titans, that pits the party owners against powerful squatters. Nyanzi has been reduced to pushing press releases in the face of an eminent showdown. The reality is that both sides have never acknowledged each other as partners. The “article” group is viewed as joyriders bent on cruising past the real owners, “balinyira ku city square” to the chagrin of the owners.
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