JUST IN: NUP Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Teso War Claimants

The opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) has taken a significant political and symbolic step in the Teso Sub-region by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with thousands of war claimants, promising to champion justice and compensation for their decades-old losses.

The signing ceremony took place on Monday at Eneku Village in Soroti City, attracting an estimated 2,500 elders, many of them survivors and descendants of those who suffered extensive losses during the insurgencies and cattle rustling that ravaged Teso in the late 1980s.

NUP party president, Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, popularly known as Bobi Wine, was the guest of honor at the event.

In a statement shared on his official X (formerly Twitter) account, he expressed deep sympathy for the elders and frustration at the government’s failure to compensate them despite numerous pledges.

“Very humbled to spend part of today with thousands of elders from Teso Sub-region, the vast majority of them being war-claimants,” Kyagulanyi wrote.

“Most of these were very rich people in the past, who lost their loved ones, cows and several other properties in the late 1980s.”

Kyagulanyi accused the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) regime, led by President Yoweri Museveni, of exploiting the victims’ suffering for political mileage without delivering meaningful redress.

“Every successive year, Museveni’s regime has been promising to compensate these people in vain,” he said.

“Many of the claimants have since died while others are very old and dealing with various ailments without medical care. With all the money the criminal regime steals and what they put to waste, they have spent 40 years lying to these senior citizens.”

The NUP leader further claimed that when limited funds were previously disbursed, they benefited only a small circle of NRM loyalists.

“Some regime-leaning leaders have turned their plight into a business,” he alleged.

The signed MoU outlines NUP’s commitment to advocating for the war claimants’ compensation and amplifying the voices of marginalised communities across Uganda.

Kyagulanyi emphasized that this was not a one-time gesture but part of a broader commitment to transformative justice and national reconciliation.

“We signed a Memorandum of Understanding with these elders, proclaiming our commitment to their plight. We shall work tooth and nail now and in the future to ensure justice for them and all other marginalised communities across the country,” he affirmed.

As a symbolic gesture, the NUP team handed over seven calves to selected elders from the community.

Kyagulanyi said the calves represent hope and a new beginning for the elderly and their families.

“Very grateful to Hon. Julius Ocen and all organisers for the effort,” he added.

This outreach by the opposition party is being seen as a strategic move to solidify support in eastern Uganda, a region that has long felt neglected in the national compensation processes and infrastructure development plans.

While the MoU may not have immediate legal consequences, its political and moral significance is already reverberating across Teso.

Many elders who spoke at the event expressed cautious optimism, hoping that the promise made this time would be different from the unfulfilled ones of the past.

Political analysts believe the event signals a growing momentum for the NUP ahead of the 2026 general elections, especially in regions historically loyal to the ruling party but increasingly disillusioned by unmet promises.

The gesture could also serve to strengthen grassroots alliances, particularly among communities still dealing with the socio-economic aftermath of past conflicts.

As the sun set over Eneku Village, chants of “Eyalama noi noi”, meaning “Thank you very much” in Ateso, echoed through the gathering, signaling the community’s appreciation and cautious hope for long-overdue justice.