Democratic Party (DP) president Norbert Mao has claimed that his party played a major role in building the People Power movement and tried to guide its youthful leader, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, before he decided to establish his own political party and contest for president. Mao says DP wanted to help transform People Power from a protest movement into a structured political force capable of challenging President Yoweri Museveni and the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Speaking during the party’s weekly press conference after months of silence, Mao claimed that DP invested more than UGX400 million in efforts to build People Power and bring opposition groups together. According to him, the initiative was part of a broader plan to encourage cooperation among opposition parties rather than allow them to compete against one another. However, he said disagreements with Kyagulanyi and people around him eventually weakened the plan for a united political front.
Mao explained that DP saw Kyagulanyi as a promising young politician whose popularity could help strengthen the opposition. However, he argued that leading a protest movement was different from managing a political party with established structures, policies and grassroots organisation. He said DP wanted Kyagulanyi to gain political experience under its umbrella before taking on the responsibility of leading a party and challenging Museveni in a presidential election.
The Justice Minister further claimed that DP was prepared to offer Kyagulanyi an opportunity to become its presidential candidate. However, Mao said the proposal was rejected after Kyagulanyi was reportedly advised that he could win the presidency without DP’s support. Mao maintained that he personally warned the musician-turned-politician that he was not yet ready to run for the highest office, but the advice was ignored amid growing enthusiasm among opposition supporters.
“We told him, you are not ready to run for president. We had the courage to tell him. He refused,” Mao said, according to the report. He also criticised some opposition leaders, including individuals who previously belonged to DP, whom he accused of allowing the excitement surrounding their popularity to influence their political decisions. In his view, enthusiastic crowds alone cannot guarantee the success of a political movement or replace the organisation required to compete in a national election.
Mao said DP’s involvement in People Power was motivated by the belief that opposition parties needed to cooperate to create a stronger democratic environment. He argued that political groups should focus on building lasting structures and developing working relationships instead of competing for attention and political relevance. He presented the experience as an example of the difficulties opposition parties face when trying to unite around popular leaders with different political strategies.
According to Mao, he later met Kyagulanyi privately at Protea Hotel in another attempt to restore their working relationship after the singer-turned-politician established the National Unity Platform (NUP). Mao said he congratulated Kyagulanyi on forming the party but proposed creating a broader coalition through what he described as the People Power Alliance. The proposed arrangement, he said, would have allowed DP and other political organisations to work together while maintaining their separate identities.
“I told him, you have formed the party, well done. But we still need to work together. Let us now form the People Power Alliance as a grand people’s alliance, a coalition of parties,” Mao said. He indicated that the proposal did not succeed, leaving the two leaders to pursue separate political paths. His latest remarks have renewed attention on the history of People Power and the disagreements that emerged as the movement developed into a more formal opposition political force.
Mao’s account reflects his long-standing argument that political popularity must be supported by organisation, experience and grassroots mobilisation. He urged opposition leaders to make careful decisions even when those decisions may be unpopular with their supporters. However, the claims about DP’s financial investment, its proposed presidential arrangement and the failed coalition remain Mao’s account of events. Kyagulanyi’s response to these latest remarks was not included in the report.
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