Africa-Press – Uganda. National Economic Empowerment Dialogue (NEED) party president Joseph Kabuleta has dismissed claims that his party has joined a coalition backing President Yoweri Museveni’s 2026 re-election bid, describing the allegations as false and part of a wider state plot to hijack his party.
In a statement on Friday, Kabuleta rejected Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja’s announcement that NEED was among several political parties that had pledged to support Museveni in the upcoming polls.
“There’s a message from Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja claiming that National Economic Empowerment Dialogue (NEED) party for which I am president is part of a cluster of parties that have agreed to support incumbent Museveni in the upcoming elections. Not true,” Kabuleta wrote.
The former presidential candidate accused the government and elements within what he termed a “fake opposition” of attempting to co-opt his party to advance the ruling National Resistance Movement’s (NRM) interests.
“There have been countless attempts to recruit me into a ‘fake opposition’ that is silently working to entrench the Museveni dynasty. I have consistently resisted them,” he said.
Kabuleta claimed that he withdrew NEED from the Holy Alliance, a coalition of opposition groups, after discovering that some members had allegedly received money from government-linked actors.
He singled out Charles Basajja, the embattled party’s Secretary General, accusing him of collaborating with the establishment.
“The people that accepted that deal (particularly former Secretary General Charles Basajja) have since been expelled from the party, but that hasn’t stopped him from masquerading as a party official,” Kabuleta alleged.
The embattled NEED president further accused Special Forces Command (SFC) operatives of interfering in the party’s internal affairs, claiming they stormed Electoral Commission offices to block his nomination as presidential candidate.
“They want to forcefully put NEED under the armpits of NRM/PLU,” he said, adding that as long as he remains party president a term he said runs until May 2030 NEED will not align with the ruling government.
Kabuleta reaffirmed his stance against political co-option.
“NEED and myself will never be part of fake opposition. We are a force for positive change, and we encourage our supporters to reject Museveni family rule,”he said.
Kabuleta’s remarks came a day after a statement attributed to NEED’s National Executive Committee, led by Charles Basajja, disassociated the party from any coalition with Museveni but also recognised Ogemba Shadrack as party leader.
Kabuleta has since dismissed that faction as illegitimate.
Speaking to Nile Post, Basajja said the purported endorsement of Museveni was “politically dishonest and designed as blackmail to score post-election survival.”
He added that decisions of such magnitude are reserved for the party’s executive committee.
“The post’s implication of NEED’s support is factually inaccurate and politically dishonest. NEED remains committed to changing the status quo from this four-decades-long rule,”he said.
The party’s internal divisions marked by rival leadership claims, expulsions, and accusations of financial impropriety have plagued NEED since its formation.
Kabuleta, who founded the party in 2022 after his 2021 presidential bid, has faced repeated suspension attempts by dissenting factions.
The turmoil has weakened NEED’s influence ahead of the 2026 polls, where Kabuleta has also struggled to secure official nomination as a presidential contender.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Nabbanja confirmed on Friday that several political parties had met her at the Office of the Prime Minister to declare support for President Museveni’s campaign.
“I congratulate the political parties that have formed a coalition and pledged to support Kaguta Museveni in the ongoing presidential election campaigns. The leaders of these parties paid a courtesy call on me this evening OPM,” Nabbanja posted.
She listed the participating parties as the Republic Women and Youth Party, Liberal Democratic Transparency (LDT), National Economic Empowerment Dialogue (NEED), Revolutionary People’s Party (RPP), and the Congress Service Volunteers Organisation (COSEVO), among others.
Nabbanja also commended Godfrey Kiwanda Ssuubi, Chairperson of the National Consultative Forum (NCF) a statutory body for registered political parties for mobilising the coalition.
“I welcome their decision to form a coalition and support President KagutaMuseveni to continue protecting the gains,” she added.
The coalition, which also includes several smaller formations, was described by Stella Bbira Nambuya of the Republic Women and Youth Party as a constitutional alliance formed “to support a leader who has contributed to Uganda’s development.
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