Mubarak Munyagwa, a presidential contestant
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Mubarak Munyagwa, the presidential flag bearer of the Common Man’s Party, has revealed why he absconded from the recently concluded NTV Uganda presidential debate. The event, which brought together several 2026 presidential contenders, went on without him — a decision he now says was deliberate and principled.
Munyagwa argued that the absence of President Yoweri Museveni rendered the entire exercise meaningless.
“My argument, my reason was one — we are giving President Museveni latitude to portray us as people who are not worth opponents,” he said. “When you allow an incumbent to run away from such a debate, those who appear end up engaging in a monologue. And you know a monologue? That’s exactly what it becomes.”
He insisted that a presidential debate should be an intellectual contest between all candidates, especially the incumbent, not an internal exchange among opposition figures.
“A debate is an intellectual competition, not a friendly talk,” Munyagwa added. “Debating Burira versus Munyagwa, Yagura versus Burira — it looks funny. That’s why, frankly, they looked funny and ugly up there. We should have boycotted that debate as a block.”
Munyagwa maintained that for the public to make a meaningful comparison of ideas and policy, President Museveni must appear on the same stage with those challenging him.
“He is the incumbent; he has to be classed in dollar. He has to be accepted. He has to enter the peer race,” he said.
Several candidates attended the debate, but Munyagwa insists his absence was a refusal to legitimize what he called an incomplete and unbalanced political contest.
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