Africa-Press – Uganda. In a blistering appearance on Big Talk, the political flagship show on Next Radio, former Aruu County MP Odonga Otto delivered a sharp critique of the recent meeting between opposition figures and President Museveni.
Otto, a veteran politician who now identifies as an independent, spared no words for the delegation that visited State House Entebbe on Wednesday, describing the 17-member group, which included MPs Yusuf Nsibambi and Moses Kabusu alongside former lawmaker Latif Ssebagala, as a “coalition of political losers”.
“I woke up to pictures of Latif Ssebagala, Yusuf Nsibambi and others meeting the President at State House,” Otto said. “My first impression as a political philosopher is that it’s a coalition of political losers.”
Otto argued that such engagements often prioritise personal political survival over the national interest.
“The negotiations coming out of these coalitions are personal,” he said, questioning the tangible outcomes of previous cross-party arrangements.
“What have we benefited from Norbert Mao being Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs?”
Reflecting on his own longevity in opposition politics, Otto said he was among the “hardcore politicians who’ve remained alive without physical injuries to my face”, but criticised what he described as a misplaced culture of avoidance within opposition ranks.
“The perception we have as Opposition is that you’re taken as a hero when you decline meeting the President,” he said.
“Sneaking in and out, taking pride in saying you’re against the government and won’t meet the President isn’t wise. It’s trivial and unsustainable.”
Rather than closed-door visits by individual politicians, Otto challenged President Museveni to engage openly with the leader of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Robert Kyagulanyi.
“I challenge President Museveni; I want him to issue a statement calling Bobi Wine for a meeting. It’s healthy, and he’s a father. Bobi Wine is younger than the First Son.”
Otto further urged the NUP leadership to clearly define what they would take into such a dialogue.
“We need to think of NUP’s thesis and synthesis. What ideological issues do they stand for that can be negotiated with government?” he said, warning that the ruling National Resistance Movement remains dominant and “can continue comfortably without NUP”.
He also touched on legal pressure facing opposition figures, citing the recent arraignment of Dr. Lina Zedriga, the NUP Vice President for Northern Uganda.
“Dr Lina Zedriga, who was arraigned before the Gulu court, a whole magistrate, I think her only fault is being a PhD holder in NUP,” Otto said.
The State House meeting that triggered Otto’s remarks included FDC’s Yusuf Nsibambi, PFF’s Moses Kabusu and Rukiga County MP Ndyomugyenyi Roland, among others.
While participants defended the engagement as necessary for governance and dialogue, Otto remained unconvinced, insisting that meaningful political progress must be grounded in transparent, ideological negotiations rather than what he described as opportunistic visits.
