False: Yusuf Nsibambi Did Not Call NUP Supporters ‘Idiots’ Nor Did He Urge Them to Go Into Exile
A post on TikTok attributed a statement to Yusuf Nsibambi claiming that he referred to members of the National Unity Platform (NUP) as “idiots” and also suggested that they should go into exile is false.
The post, shared by an account identified as New Power422, states: “Whoever said obukade magezi didn’t you know about these people.” while sharing an alleged statement attributed to Nsibambi that reads: “I learnt the word Gumite & Vimba when NUP existed. That’s the hooliganism the party holds & I suggest all those NUP idiots yarning for free & fair elections in Uganda to leave this country & go to exile.”
The Facts
Nsibambi has previously been associated with opposition politics, where he interacted with officials from NUP. He recently crossed over to the National Resistance Movement (NRM) from the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).
The image used in the post is authentic and was taken during a television appearance last month.
The Verification Process
We began by using the Info Verifier tool to search for any original Source of the alleged quote.
The search results did not produce any verified evidence confirming that Nsibambi called NUP supporters “idiots” or urged that they should go abroad. Instead, the tool returned unrelated articles discussing NUP like Mulengera News and Nile Post. We learnt that the articles talk about NUP, but he did not call them idiots or ask them to leave the country.
A simple Google search was conducted and also yielded no credible reports confirming that Nsibambi actually made that statement.
Although the post ends with a Tasha7News sign out, a review of its social media accounts namely FaceBook, X , didn’t yield results of the specific statement in question.
We then learnt that the accounts largely publish partisan content supportive of NUP and that which is critical of the government. This raises questions about its credibility as an objective news outlet because credible media outlets are expected to adhere to editorial ethics like neutrality in their reporting.
We were also able to trace the claim back to a TikTok account identified as Tasha8 and not Tasha7 News.
We perfromed a Google reserve image search on the image used in the claim which led us to the full interview on YouTube. The search led to a full interview where Nsibambi appeared on Bukedde TV’s political Akabbinkano show on February 24, 2026. The image used originates from that day, two days after (February 26,) the interview was aired. A review of the full program, including the sections at timestamps 3:47, 11:10, 56:14, 58:34, 1:01:28, 1:15:04 and 1:17:43 shows that Nsibmbi discussed his decision to cross over to NRM and shared his views about NUP.
Although he expressed his frustrations regarding his interactions with some NUP supporters, he did not refer to them as “idiots” nor did he suggest that those advocating for a free and fair elections go abroad or exile but rather asked them to join the government to share on the national cake and to see how they can ensure fair elections. This means that the claim misused a genuine show moment from that day and attributed statements that were not made.
Verdict
False. There is no credible evidence that Nsibambi made the statement attributed to him in the viral post. The quote cannot be found in any verified interview, publication, or broadcast, including his appearance on Bukedde TV’s Akabbinkano. The claim is fabricated, kindly dismiss it.
This fact-check was produced by NAMAJJA ELIZABETH with support from the Debunk Media Initiative and BBC Media Action.