Moses Nkonge Kibalama, the founder of the National Unity Reconciliation and Development Party (NURDP), now operating under the National Unity Platform (NUP) led by Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, has formally withdrawn his court case challenging the party’s constitution.
The decision comes shortly after the Constitutional Court adjourned the matter to April 13, 2026. Kibalama announced the move during a visit to the party’s headquarters in Makerere Kavule on Wednesday, emphasizing that reconciliation and unity were his primary motivations.
He was accompanied by former Secretary General Paul Simbwa Kagombe. At the party headquarters, they were welcomed by NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya.
Kibalama stressed that the decision was voluntary and free of external influence, saying they had opted for reconciliation in the interest of party unity and political stability.
Kagombe dismissed suggestions that personal gain played a role in their return. “We have not been promised money or positions. We are back on grounds of merit,” he said.
Kibalama earlier accused Bobi Wine of breaking a promise, claiming that the Kyadondo East MP once offered him $5 million in exchange for control of the National Unity Platform (NUP).
He said he can no longer engage with the party leadership due to perceived dishonesty.
The story of this political alignment dates back to 2018, when the People Power legal team sought to register “People Power” as a political party.
They discovered the name was already taken, forcing the movement to operate solely as a political and social advocacy group.
According to Kibalama, a group within the National Unity, Reconciliation and Development Party (NURDP) met with Bobi Wine after his attempt to register a party.
In July 2020, Bobi Wine formally launched the NUP, adopting the umbrella as the party symbol. Yet Kibalama, the party’s founder, says his contributions and opinions were sidelined. He insists that the party has veered away from its original course.
He also noted that promises of influential positions by the party leadership have not been fulfilled and expressed his intention to reclaim leadership of the party.
The legal disputes over the party go back to August 2020, when former NURDP members led by Hassan Twaha sued Kibalama and others, accusing them of selling the party to Bobi Wine and altering its name and leadership.
Earlier efforts to rename the party include applications in 2012 and 2013 to become the Independent National Unity Party, both of which were rejected. Another attempt to rebrand NURDP to NUP in 2019 was also objected to by the Electoral Commission.
