The National Unity Platform (NUP) has received confirmation that their party office in Mbarara will continue to be housed in a building owned by the late Jolly Mugisha, the party's Deputy President for Western Uganda.
This assurance came from Mugisha's eldest son, Dr. Jacob Rosy Mugisha, during a prayer service organized by NUP at her home in Mbarara City on Thursday.
"My mother often said she was going to meet her 'other son,' referring to Kyagulanyi. It's unfortunate she is no longer with us, but as long as I'm alive, the NUP office will remain in her building on Makhansing Street," Dr. Jacob Mugisha said.
He further remarked that offering the building to NUP in 2022 was an act of love for the people his mother cared deeply about, expressed through the party she supported.
NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi, his wife Barbie Itungo, and several NUP leaders, including MPs and regional representatives, attended the prayers.
Mr Kyagulanyi praised the family for allowing NUP to organize the service in honor of their late deputy president.
"I want to thank the family for letting us hold this send-off as a party. I don't know what's next, but God has a plan because Jolly is irreplaceable," he said.
He also condemned the police for blocking their intended venue at Nyamityoobora playground in Mbarara City.
"Police shamelessly denied us the chance to give Jolly the send-off she deserved, like we had planned as a people and as Africans. They humiliated us by blocking our prayers," he added.
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Rwizi Region Police Spokesperson Samson Kasasira confirmed the decision to block the event, stating that NUP had not received clearance from the Inspector General of Police, despite being informed of the family's program to transport the body to Mitooma.
Lina Zedriga, NUP deputy president for Northern Uganda and a close associate of the late Mugisha, remembered her colleague as a dedicated grassroots mobilizer.
"Jolly was a listener. Even in silence, she spoke volumes. She loved grassroots mobilization, which is why she offered her building to the party for office space," Zedriga said.
NUP Secretary General Lewis Rubongoya commended Mugisha for her loyalty to the party, despite external pressures to join the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
"She could have been a minister in the current government, but she chose NUP. Even when the regime tried to lure her back, she stood firm," Rubongoya noted.
Jolly Mugisha will be laid to rest on Friday at her ancestral home in Kyempologoma, Mitooma District.
She passed away on Monday at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital after spending nearly a month in the ICU.
