NUP’s Rose Nalubowa Pleads Guilty to Meeting President Museveni at State House
KAMPALA, Uganda
Former Masaka City Woman MP candidate Rose Nalubowa of the National Unity Platform (NUP) has admitted meeting President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni at State House, Nakasero, following weeks of controversy surrounding the alleged meeting.
Her admission has reignited debate within opposition circles about political engagements between opposition figures and the President, particularly amid the opposition’s calls for political change.
Nameere First Revealed Alleged Meeting
The controversy emerged after Nalubowa’s former electoral opponent, State Minister for Local Government Justine Nameere, publicly claimed that Rose Nalubowa had approached her for assistance in securing a meeting with President Museveni.
Nameere reportedly alleged that Nalubowa wanted an audience with the President because she was struggling with substantial debts.
The revelation followed Nameere’s court victory in the Masaka City Woman MP election dispute.
Rose Nalubowa Changes Her Position
Nalubowa initially dismissed the allegations and challenged Nameere to produce evidence that the meeting had taken place.
However, she has since acknowledged meeting Museveni at State House, although she offered a different account of how the encounter happened.
Rose Nalubowa reportedly claimed that she was compelled to attend after the President personally called and summoned her to explain the electoral chaos that had engulfed Masaka.
She also rejected Nameere’s account that the minister facilitated her meeting with the President, insisting that she was not taken there by her former electoral opponent.
Admission Triggers Questions Within Opposition
Her admission has reportedly triggered questions among some opposition supporters about the relationship between opposition politicians and the ruling establishment.
The development has also reopened discussions about transparency, political consistency and the trust opposition supporters place in their leaders.
Nalubowa’s meeting with Museveni does not, in itself, establish wrongdoing. However, the controversy raises questions about why she initially denied an encounter she has now acknowledged.
For supporters who have long viewed engagement with the President through the lens of political loyalty, the explanation surrounding the meeting is likely to attract further scrutiny.
The controversy comes against the backdrop of Nalubowa’s unsuccessful legal challenge to Nameere’s election victory. On October 21, 2026, the Masaka High Court dismissed her petition and upheld Nameere’s election. New Vision +1
The central question now is not simply whether Nalubowa met Museveni, but why the meeting initially became a subject of denial and competing accounts.
