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A burial service in Bukomansimbi district yesterday turned fiery as Leader of the Opposition (LOP) Joel Ssenyonyi delivered a pointed address directed at the district woman MP, Veronica Namaganda Nanyondo.
Mourners cheered loudly as the LOP aimed jabs at the legislator, accusing her of telling lies about him.
This was during the funeral of Aida Kyosimb’onanya, grandmother to NUP President Bobi Wine, held on Friday, December 27, in Butenga, Kawoko, Bukomansimbi District,
The ceremony was attended by prominent figures, including Bobi Wine, his wife Barbie Itungo, and several NUP leaders and local officials.
Ssenyonyi's Accusations
In his speech, Ssenyonyi accused Hon. Nanyondo of dishonesty and betrayal concerning recent parliamentary proceedings.
Ssenyonyi recounted how Nanyondo (NUP) was among the opposition legislators that frustrated their efforts to combat corruption within Parliament.
This was during the heat of the scandal implicating the then NUP Vice President Mathias Mpuuga who was accused along with other NRM parliamentary commissioners of allocating themselves taxpayer money fraudulently.
Ssenyonyi told mourners that after the initiation of a petition to bring the matter to the parliamentary floor, Nanyondo initially supported by signing it.
However, she later withdrew her signature, claiming she had been misled into believing it was an attendance list for a shadow cabinet meeting—a meeting she was not designated to attend.
“How could she lie that I called her for a Shadow cabinet meeting? The document she signed was very clearly about censoring the people who stole the taxpayers’ money,” charged the LOP.
"We need to stand for the truth as leaders. Hon. Nanyondo, we need to learn to tell the truth.”
Nanyondo's Response
During Ssenyonyi's address, Hon. Nanyondo stood up and waved, acknowledging his remarks.
However, she did not offer a verbal response or rebuttal during the funeral proceedings.
The Mpuuga UGX 500 Million Scandal
Former Leader of the Opposition, Mathias Mpuuga, was implicated in a scandal where he allegedly received UGX 500 million as a "service award" from the Parliamentary Commission—a payment perceived by many as irregular and tantamount to corruption.
The National Unity Platform (NUP) called for Mpuuga's resignation from his position as Parliamentary Commissioner following his admission to receiving the funds.
Despite internal pressures, Mpuuga initially refused to resign, defending the payment as standard gratuity and accusing detractors of character assassination.
He stated, "To call such payments corruption is the highest level of spite, double standards, and deliberate misrepresentation."
The scandal led to internal strife within NUP, culminating in Mpuuga's suspension from his role as Deputy President for Central Region by NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine).