President Museveni has said that "bad leaders" in the National Unity Platform (NUP) and parts of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) have nothing to offer Ugandans and instead mislead the youth into unnecessary danger and death.

Museveni made the remarks on Thursday via his X handle (formerly Twitter), after meeting a group of NUP and FDC converts at Kololo.

"I met a group of converts from the National Unity Platform (NUP) at Kololo and thanked them for reforming. These bad leaders in NUP and some sections of FDC misguide the youth into danger, resulting in unnecessary deaths. They really have nothing to offer," Museveni wrote.

The President, who was nominated earlier this week to run for a seventh term as NRM flagbearer in the 2026 general elections, pledged full support for the reintegration of the new converts into society.

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"The NRM will support their reintegration into society. I also congratulate the former prisoners for realizing their mistakes and turning away from misleading opposition politics, thereby earning our forgiveness," he said.

Museveni added that he had received a memorandum from the converts and promised to study it, while encouraging young people to focus on government programs and opportunities in four priority sectors: commercial agriculture, artisanship and industry, services, and ICT.

However, some Ugandans on X expressed skepticism about the authenticity of the defectors.

One user, Henrick Van Klaus, wrote: "For anyone out there who is trying to make some money during these campaigns all you have to do is mobilize a few hundred abavubuka from the ghetto, buy them NUP t-shirts, look for an NRM aspirant in Kampala & claim you are defecting. You're guaranteed a return on this investment."