Speaking at the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) headquarters in Kampala on Thursday, August 21, 2025, Ssemujju who also serves as the PFF spokesperson said most opposition parties are no longer committed to ending President Yoweri Museveni’s rule but are instead benefitting from it.
“These parties are not fighting the regime; they are surviving off it. They are begging for money from the very government we claim we want to remove. How can you fight a system when you are feeding from its hand?” Ssemujju told journalists.
His remarks followed confirmation from Leader of Opposition Joel Ssenyonyi in an interview with New Vision on August 20 that NUP will be joining IPOD. According to Ssenyonyi, the move is meant to secure equal access to campaign funding ahead of the 2026 general elections.
But Ssemujju insisted that taking part in IPOD exposes the true intentions of many opposition leaders, whom he accused of prioritizing money over principle.
“Let it be clear. PFF will not be part of that betrayal. We are not in this struggle for money. We are in it to end the Museveni regime once and for all,” he said.
No PFF Presidential Candidate in 2026
Ssemujju further announced that PFF will not front a presidential candidate in the 2026 elections, citing the collapse of earlier efforts to form a joint opposition front.
Initially, PFF had considered backing Gen. Mugisha Muntu of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), in case their founding leader Dr. Kizza Besigye remains in detention or unavailable. However, Ssemujju said that trust broke down after learning that ANT was secretly planning to join IPOD without PFF’s knowledge.
“We trusted Gen. Muntu, but we were shocked to learn that his team was making quiet moves to join IPOD behind our backs. How can we walk together when they’re taking side deals with the regime?” he explained.
PFF has since dropped Muntu as their preferred joint candidate and ruled out Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago as another possible option. According to Ssemujju, unless Dr. Besigye is released, PFF will not field a presidential candidate at all.
Opposition Split Widens
The PFF spokesperson also took aim at NUP, ANT, JEEMA, DP, and a faction of the FDC, accusing them of “abandoning the struggle in exchange for government funding and political survival.”
“It is now clear that PFF is the only genuine opposition left in Uganda. The rest are just playing games to stay relevant while Museveni rules comfortably,” Ssemujju declared.
Uganda’s next general elections are scheduled between January 12 and February 9, 2026. Parliamentary nominations are expected on September 16 and 17, 2025.
With the opposition increasingly divided, analysts say the ruling NRM could gain a clear advantage going into the polls.
Still, Ssemujju maintains that PFF will stick to its principles:
“We are not here to play politics. We are here to fight for real change. And we won’t compromise, even if it means standing alone.”
