The biggest opposition political party, National Unity Platform -NUP has brushed aside any hopes of joining the interparty organization IPOD.

Interparty Organization for Dialogue-IPOD was formed in 2010 for purposes of dialogue between all the parties with representation in Parliament.

The NUP was destined to take over as the official Opposition effective May courtesy of being represented in Parliament.

The secretariat invited two parties, the NUP and the People’s Progressive Party-PPP to join the organization.

But in a September letter authored by the NUP Secretary-General David Lewis Rubongoya, he explains reasons why the party has trashed the idea of joining IPOD.

Rubongoya says works to approve a partial needs of a brutal regime with no consideration for democracy.

“The regime uses it (IPOD) for political gain, far from its intended objective of strengthening Uganda’s multiparty democracy. You will agree that in the past ten years of IPOD’s existence in Uganda, the democratic space has shrunk, going from bad to worse every successive year”

Rubogoya further explains that hundreds of NUP supporters have been abducted, tortured, and allegedly killed.;

‘‘ We have taken time to study the discussion that has taken place in IPOD over time. In our assessment, the regime has turned it into a forum in which Party Principals meet for a cup of tea, followed by a photo opportunity”

The decision comes at a time when the opposition party has expressed frustration with the regime following the arrests of its supporters and legislators.

Recently,2 NUP Mps Muhammed Ssegirinya -Kawempe North and Allan Ssewanyana Makindye West were arrested and remanded to Kitalya for playing a part in murders in the Greater Masaka area.

During a presser on Thursday, the party accused the regime of deliberately targeting its members in incidents or organized crime.

Mathius Mpuuga the LOP said “Our party is not violent or murderous, security has been using the same tactics in the past to tarnish opposition members not a single group or any suspect was prosecuted in the first Bijambiya spate in Masaka during the regime of Gen Kayihura. What happened?”

He also demanded the trial of NUP members still in detention without being brought to courts of law. 

IPOD that constitutes of 5 political parties have been recently shunned by the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC)

FDC and Justice Forum (Jeema) declined to attend an IPOD summit in March 2021 saying the organization doesn’t believe in democracy.