Rose Nalubowa, the National Unity Platform (NUP) flag bearer for Masaka City Woman Member of Parliament, has dismissed reports that she visited President Yoweri Museveni at State House accompanied by 11 other members of the opposition party.
Nalubowa confirmed meeting Museveni but clarified that she travelled to State House with her sister, dismissing social media claims that several NUP members of parliament were part of the delegation.
The reports emerged last week, triggering debate among NUP supporters, with some questioning her decision to meet the President without the party leadership’s involvement.
Speaking in her first media interview since the controversy, Nalubowa said she had not named any NUP member as having accompanied her and urged the public against spreading unverified information.
“I don’t want to tarnish anyone’s name. I did not say that I went with any NUP member to State House. I went with my sister. Don’t spoil people’s names,” she said.
She also dismissed lists circulating on social media purporting to identify NUP members who allegedly attended the meeting, describing them as fabricated.
“I’ve seen lists of NUP members’ names circulating on social media, said to have gone with me to see the President. It’s not true. Those lists are fake,” she added.
Nalubowa explained that her visit to State House was connected to her electoral dispute following the 2026 parliamentary elections.
She was initially declared the winner of the Masaka City Woman MP race before the results were overturned following a recount petition filed by her rival and National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate, Justine Nameere.
The recount resulted in Nameere being declared the winner, prompting Nalubowa to challenge the outcome in court. However, she lost the case and was ordered to pay the costs incurred by Nameere.
Nalubowa said she had initially approached Isoke seeking information about the status of her election case but was told that Museveni was interested in 12 election-related cases, including hers.
“My message was clear. I said when I went to Isoke to ask for a report regarding my case, he refused and told me it was not only my case that President Museveni was interested in, but that there were 12 of us. I did not mention anyone’s name,” she explained.
When asked whether she had informed or consulted NUP leaders before visiting State House, Nalubowa declined to provide a direct response, arguing that the two actions were different.
“Informing my bosses and consulting them are two different things. I won’t go so deep into that,” she said.
The opposition politician also defended her decision to visit State House, arguing that the institution should not be regarded as the President’s private property.
She maintained that State House is a public institution that should be accessible to Ugandans regardless of their political affiliations.
“Ugandans should stop thinking State House is personal property,” she said.
Nalubowa’s remarks come days after NUP publicly distanced itself from her engagement with Museveni.
In a statement issued on November 7, 2026, the party said its leadership had neither been consulted nor informed about the meeting and only learnt about it through Nalubowa’s public comments.
“Our attention has been brought to comments made by Hon. Rose Nalubowa by which she stated that she met with Gen. Yoweri Museveni, who, according to her, summoned her after elections. We wish to clarify that as a Party, we were never consulted on this matter and were not aware of any such meeting,” the party said.
The controversy has raised questions about internal communication within NUP and the relationship between opposition politicians and the President following the 2026 elections.
Nalubowa, however, maintains that claims linking other NUP members to her State House visit are false.
