Fabricated: Mpuuga did not urge DF members to vote for Museveni
A post shared by The Kampala Journal on X claims that Mathias Mpuuga told Democratic Front (DF) members to vote for President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, quoting him as saying:
“We are tired of forcing ourselves on NUP. I urge all DF members to vote for Museveni,” fumes angry Mpuuga who has been in Kalungu East struggling to campaign for his less appealing candidate #KJNews pic.twitter.com/2eBHgr2cgK
— The Kampala Journal (@KampalaJournal) January 7, 2026
The post is accompanied by an image showing Mpuuga seated at a campaign event in Kalungu East alongside supporters of Birimuye Michael. The claim implies that Mpuuga has abandoned opposition politics and is now mobilising support for Museveni.
However, this claim is false and misrepresents what Mpuuga actually said.
Background
Mathias Mpuuga is a Ugandan opposition politician and a founding leader of the Democratic Front (DF), a political platform formed after internal disagreements within the National Unity Platform (NUP).
Although Mpuuga has been openly critical of NUP’s leadership and internal politics, he has consistently positioned himself as an opposition figure to President Museveni and the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
There is no official record of Mpuuga or DF endorsing Museveni for president.
The Claim
The X post asserts that while campaigning in Kalungu East, Mpuuga told DF members to abandon NUP and instead vote for Museveni. The wording presents the statement as a direct quote and portrays it as a political endorsement.
Verification
We reviewed the speech video of Mpuuga shared on TikTok by CBS FM, which shows him campaigning for Birimuye Michael.
@cbsfm President wa DF Owek Mathias Mpuuga Nsamba alabudde abamukwatirwa ensaalwa! abadde Kalungu West ng’anonyeza munnakibiina Birimuye Matovu akalulu. #fyp #fyp #fyp ♬ original sound – cbsfmug
In the video:
- Mpuuga speaks about political discipline, leadership responsibility, and the future of opposition politics.
- He criticises internal weaknesses within opposition parties.
- He refers to political rivals as “enemies” in a strategic and ideological sense.
- He offers advice on how opposition forces should reorganise and rethink their political approach.
At no point in the video does Mpuuga urge DF members to vote for Museveni.
He also does not declare support for Museveni, NRM, or any ruling-party candidate.
The quote attributed to him in the Kampala Journal post does not appear anywhere in the speech.
Context Analysis
The post selectively reframes Mpuuga’s criticism of NUP as proof of support for Museveni. This is a common political misinformation tactic: portraying disagreement within opposition politics as automatic loyalty to the ruling party.
Criticising NUP leadership does not equal endorsing Museveni. The two positions are not interchangeable, and no evidence is presented to justify that conclusion.
Image Context
The image used in the post simply shows Mpuuga attending a campaign event. It does not contain any visual evidence of a Museveni endorsement, NRM symbols, or any pro-Museveni messaging. The image alone does not support the claim.
Additional Context
Uganda’s election period has seen repeated cases where opposition figures are falsely portrayed as defectors to NRM using misleading captions, edited quotes, or selective framing of speeches.
Such narratives are often designed to weaken opposition credibility by creating an impression of collapse, betrayal, or hidden alliances.
Responsible political reporting requires:
- Full speech context
- Direct video or audio evidence of the alleged statement
- Corroboration from multiple credible media outlets
- Official confirmation from the individual involved
None of these conditions are met in this case.
Verdict: Fabricated
The claim that Mathias Mpuuga urged DF members to vote for Museveni is false. Our review of the speech shows that Mpuuga offered political advice, and discussed opposition strategy but never endorsed Museveni or called on DF supporters to vote for him.
The quote attributed to Mpuuga is not present in the video and appears to be a fabricated or distorted reconstruction of his words. The post therefore misleads the public by presenting political criticism as a presidential endorsement.