By KAMPALA; The former leaders of the National Unity Reconciliation and Development Party (NURP), including Moses Kibalama Nkonge and Paul Ssimbwa Kagombe, have reconciled with the leadership of the National Unity Platform (NUP) after a series of squabbles concerning the rightful ownership of the party.
According to Ssimbwa, the former secretary general of NURP, which was renamed after Kyagulanyi took over its leadership, they are tired of being used and tossed by state officials and those self-seeking elements who pretend to be in opposition.
While addressing the press on Wednesday, December 17, 2025, at the NUP party headquarters in Makerere Kavule, Ssimbwa called upon his colleagues to come back home for work toward what he called a new Uganda.
“The reason we are here is to apologize to the NUP leadership over the conflicts and misunderstandings that have been happening between the party and us. We inform the country that we have decided to come back home without any transactions.We are here ready for deployment by the President,” Ssimbwa said.
He also called upon party supporters to vote for Kyagulanyi because he has stood the test of time through resilience and his courageous spirit to present himself as the only hope for Uganda.
Kibalama confirmed their decision to reconcile with the NUP leadership by withdrawing the case in court against the alleged unlawful takeover of the party by Kyagulanyi.
“We had taken the legal process against Kyagulanyi’s ownership of the party, but we withdrew the case because we wanted to heal the wounds of those affected by our previous legal move. We appeal to those who are still behind us to come back home and build the party because mistakes are made by people and corrected by people,” Kibalama said.
On his part, Benjamin Katana, the NUP national treasurer, welcomed Kibalama and his colleagues to the struggle and requested that party supporters forgive and work with them to build the party.
“Here we believe in the bible. Ours is to forgive and bless because it’s never too late to do the right thing before God. Now I don’t know what they will say again because they have been looking for such weakness to continue dividing the opposition,” Katana said.
The NUP party Secretary General, David Lewis Rubongoya, stated that the party believes in reconciliation and national unity, indicating that they are ready to work with Kibalama and Ssimbwa, as well as other actors, to develop the party.
“I thank them for seeing the light and withdrawing the case. We have been telling you that these people are not the ones behind all this chaos, but the regime officials and other political actors,” Rubongoya said.
In June 2025, Kibalama filed a fresh lawsuit seeking to reclaim party assets and challenging the current NUP leadership’s legitimacy. In September 2025, the Constitutional Court adjourned a case brought by Kibalama and Paul Ssimbwa Kagombe to April 13, 2026.
However, their move to reconcile and withdraw the case not only puts party leadership at ease but also ensures NUP stability ahead of the general elections in 2026.
