Passing for a democratic political organisation, the proponents of the People Power activism recently acquired the National Unity Platform (NUP), they now seek to hopefully use and get state power in the forthcoming general elections. However, NUP leaders and their activists need to be advised to calm down because the future can be a rough tumble, and merely being a youth doesn’t confer unrestrained rights and legitimacy.

It is imperative, that NUP is uncovered to the public for what it seeks to be in reality if left unchecked. From its political narratives, slogan, dress code, insignia, and public conduct, NUP, led by MP Robert Kyagulanyi is following the footsteps of former German Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s youth brigade (Sturmabteilung), also known as the “Brown Shirts” that emerged in the 1920s after the First World War. Among others, the Freikorps (storm troopers) was, over time fashioned along fascist paramilitary lines.

To this end they typically wore military style uniforms including boots, army fatigues, ties, full ranks, insignia and medals, first to create organizational and command structure so as to hold control over its members who they employed to intimidate rival groups, the public that didn’t agree with them, and performed different operational tasks.

These NUP uniforms being used at their offices, functions, political meetings, and on daily public display, as can already be noticed have no standardization except the swastika armband worn on the left. Like Hitler’s youth brigades, NUP activists share the same agenda in the belief and identity by costumes, intimidation, intolerance, violence, bigotry and other fascist tendencies. In using these uniforms NUP leaders are seeking to copy military formation including burly bodyguards for no other useful purpose than to spread intimidation, harassment and fear among the public during the electoral process. As already being seen, NUP has succeeded in bullying all the opposition groups and are unable to openly confront or criticize them but instead playing along with NUP mischief.

In the media and other public platforms, NUP has impudent activists who spread terror including threats of physical harm against whoever takes contrary political line as evidenced in their shutting up Col (Rtd) Kizza Besigye, Stella Nyanzi, and Michael Mabbike among who were its allies.

This week’s security raid on several locations in Kampala including business premises and NUP head quarters revealed that they manufacture, stockpile, distribute and use these various items mostly for purposes of ill-intent. Among items recovered are the green military uniforms from Somalia, and detailed action plans they hope to use in anticipated confrontations with security agencies during the upcoming election cycle. Their main hope and objective are to intimidate voters during campaigns and on polling day or reject results when they sense defeat, all of which Ugandans must keep a keen eye.

In addition, NUP is following footsteps the discredited and defeated anarchism of FDC under Kizza Besigye to ascend state power. Looking at the recent youth, and NRM elections where NUP members aggressively invaded polling stations even where they shouldn’t have been is testament of what they believe can be achieved if left unchecked in time.

Two weeks from now nominations for presidential candidates for next year’s general elections is slated to be conducted at the Kyambogo university cricket grounds according to the program released by the Electoral Commission (EC). So far, the final number of candidates is not  known.

But as of last Friday, eight presidential aspirants Yoweri Tibahaburwa Kaguta Museveni (NRM), Charles Bbale of the Ecological Party of Uganda, and five Independents among them Henry Tumukunde, Simon Ebetu, Mayambala Were, Dr Elizabeth Lugudde, Fred Mwesigye and Mutoono Mbulambago Robert had returned nomination forms. Gen (Rtd) Greg Mugisha Muntu, Norbert Mao, Kyagulanyi, Charles Rwomushana, Patrick Oboi Amuriat, and Joseph Kabuleta hadn’t shown up.

President Museveni will lead the NRM campaigns for all candidates selling the party 2021-26 election manifesto whose theme will focus on continuous national peace, stability, and socio-economic transformation with shared prosperity. And surely, the NRM cadres will turn the campaign heat on opponents particularly in the battleground constituencies of youths and urban areas.

NRM has fielded candidates for all the 517 electoral seats in the Eleventh parliament trashing FDC. By last Friday the unofficial tally indicated that FDC had fielded fewer parliamentary candidates than in 2016. This is partly on account of the split that led to the formation of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) by Mugisha Muntu, and desertion by its sitting MPs.

Eng. Amuriat, FDC leader and its presidential flag-bearer is being seen by many analysts more as a dark-horse stop-gap filler, than a candidate with realistic possibility to make any impact on the election campaign trail. Mugisha Muntu, has to-date by all reasonable accounts has failed to establish himself in a firm position among the leading candidates on strategy, policy alternatives or following to any significant percentage of Uganda’s voting population across social strata and regions. The reading so far, is that Muntu could be a lame-duck candidate, and ANT like FDC, hasn’t fielded significant numbers for parliamentary candidates.