PFF distances itself from Nsibambi, President Museveni talks

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On February 5 this year, photos emerged showing Mawokota South MP Yusuf Nsibambi and a group of opposition lawmakers meeting President Yoweri Museveni at State House, Entebbe.

Those present included Kyamuswa County MP Moses Kabuusu, former Kawempe North MP Latif Ssebagala, an avowed Democratic Front (DF) leader, and Rukiga County MP Roland Ndyomugyenyi, an Independent.

In total, the group comprised 17 politicians, some of whom opted to remain out of the camera’s view.

In an interview with New Vision on February 7, 2026, Nsibambi said the meeting was aimed at initiating political dialogue on several contentious issues, including the fate of more than 1,000 political prisoners, some of whom were arrested in the run-up to and after the recently concluded general elections.

According to Nsibambi, President Museveni said he had no objection to the release of suspects who had not yet been charged. However, those already facing court proceedings would have to allow the legal process to take its course, after which the President could consider a constitutional pardon or amnesty.

“He (President) said he had no problem, but he cannot interfere in the release of political prisoners unless they are convicted and pardoned under the law. Otherwise, as a President, he cannot give any amnesty to cases which are being prosecuted. Those who are not prosecuted, he said, we can talk; there are young men who were misguided, then get assurance of rehabilitation and desisting from crime, those can be released,” Nsibambi disclosed.

PFF responds

However, speaking exclusively to this publication on Monday, February 9, 2026, the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) vice president for western Uganda, Dr Nicholas Thadeus Kamara, distanced the party from the meeting.

Kamara said that although he has longstanding personal relationships with some of those who met the President, including Kabuusu and Nsibambi, he views their actions as politically expedient.

“What I think is that this is a group that sat together and thought, that what's next? What should they do since they have lost elections? And if I can say, they don’t want to not partake the national cake. I think there is something they think they are going to lose if they don’t become part of the system now,” Kamara observed.

Kamara, who is also the Kabale Municipality MP, said he was not aware of any official position within the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) supporting dialogue with the government.

He added that he recently heard FDC presidential candidate Nathan Nandala Mafabi and party president Patrick Oboi Amuriat disputing the outcome of the just-concluded elections, which, he said, suggested the party was not aligned with the position Nsibambi, the FDC parliamentary whip, appeared to be advancing.

“Us as People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), don’t know of any meeting, and I sit on the top executive. I am a deputy chairman for the whole western region, I have not heard anywhere where we have discussed that we need to dialogue,” he said.

Structured dialogue

Kamara said that if dialogue were to take place, it would need to be structured and sanctioned by party organs, rather than pursued through individual initiatives.

“The party’s top organ must meet; national delegates must be consulted, such that we know what we are going to dialogue about. As far as I am concerned, these three or four individuals are discussing their future with the government as individuals. I don’t believe there is any party which has sent them,” he argued.

He warned that opposition politicians who believe such engagements would deliver results risk further frustration, insisting that sustained pressure for good governance remains the only viable path.

Fight on or surrender

The opposition’s poor performance in the 2026 general elections has intensified debate over strategy and direction.

In the January 15 polls, NUP candidate Robert Kyagulanyi secured 2.7 million votes, compared with President Museveni’s 7.9 million votes, representing 71.4 per cent.

Parliamentary representation for the opposition also declined, with NUP losing seven seats from its previous tally of 57, while PFF secured two seats and FDC returned only a handful of MPs.

Historical precedents

Despite these setbacks, Kamara said history shows that political struggles often appear bleak before progress is made.

“Everyone seems to have given up, and in life, such things happen. Let us first begin with the Bush War; there is a time when people started defecting, and President Museveni was running to Rwenzori. And that is the time when they were about to win. Had they defected all of them, they wouldn’t have won the Bush War,” he said.

“If you look at the African National Congress (ANC), when they were tortured and chased from inland South Africa, they went to Mozambique, Tanzania, and they had the biggest problems at that time. But it is when the problem seemed to be insurmountable that you must not quit. That’s why some of us are not quitting, even if you remain one, you never know you might be the one to take Uganda to the next step,” he added.

Mixed reactions

While Nsibambi and his colleagues face criticism, some lawmakers have defended the move.

Sheema South MP Prof. Elijah Mushemeza said engagement with the President was not unusual in politics.

“You know; politics involves what in English they call interests. If a group wants something and sees that the President has it or can provide it, I don’t see any problem with going to see him,” Mushemeza said.

“I heard Nsibambi’s interview. He said they had met the President about five times, which shows a working relationship exists. As a political scientist, I don’t see a problem with that,” he added.