President Museveni has castigated the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) for what he described as being “shallow and bogus” politics, after the party fronted a relative of Speaker of Parliament Anita Among as its flag bearer for the Bukedea Woman Member of Parliament seat.
Speaking during a rally at Emokori Grounds in Bukedea District on Wednesday, President Museveni said it was laughable that NUP had chosen Florence Asio — a relative of Speaker Among — to run against her.
“The girl (Asio) I took a picture with is a relative of Among. She is the one NUP was hoping to stand against Among. This shows how shallow and bogus NUP is,” Museveni said.
“They(NUP) didn’t even know who their members are.”
The President made the remarks shortly after being introduced to Asio by Speaker Among, who presented her during the event.
Asio had earlier caused a stir after she went missing a day before the nomination exercise for parliamentary candidates.
Her disappearance led to NUP claims that she had been abducted under unclear circumstances. However, she resurfaced after nominations were closed — by which time Among had been declared unopposed for the Bukedea Woman MP seat.
Addressing the crowd, Speaker Among distanced Asio from NUP, saying she had never been a registered member of the party nor a politician by background.
“She has never been in NUP and she is not even a politician,” Among said as she introduced Asio to the President.
President Museveni went on to congratulate Among and other National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidates who sailed through unopposed, saying it was a sign of strong public confidence in the ruling party’s leadership.
The Bukedea Woman MP race drew national attention after NUP’s alleged candidate failed to appear for nomination, sparking confusion and allegations of foul play within the opposition party.
Asio later stated that her absence was due to personal and family reasons, not abduction.
“I wish to categorically make it clear to everyone that I was not kidnapped,” Asio said.
“My decision not to appear on the nomination grounds that day came out of family pressure, being that I am a daughter of the Right Honourable Speaker, Annet Anita Among. So, due to family pressure, I had to pull out.”
She explained that her decision to contest was made abruptly, without consulting her family.
“My intentions to contest came in on short notice, and it came to them as a shock on the day of my unveiling. That is when the pressure started mounting. I didn’t take it seriously at first, but I couldn’t hold it anymore,” she said.
