Common Man's Party (CMP) presidential candidate Mubarak Munyagwa Sserunga, popularly known as "Mugati Gwa Butter," has ignited public debate after bluntly criticizing his father's continued support for the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Speaking during the Sanyuka One on One programme on Tuesday, Munyagwa took aim at his father, Hajj Burhan Sserunga, following the senior citizen's public endorsement of President Kaguta Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986.
"My father was bewitched; he can't see what we are going through as a country," Munyagwa said during the interview.
The remarks came days after Hajj Burhan Sserunga addressed an NRM presidential rally held on Saturday, December 6, 2025, at Kayombo Primary School playgrounds in Kitagwenda District, where he openly rallied support for Museveni ahead of the forthcoming elections.
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"I am a civilian veteran. I helped the NRA war people by offering shelter. I have seen where this country has come from and where it is going," Sserunga told the crowd. "I hail President Museveni for his good and wise leadership."
"Let everyone support President Museveni in the coming term so he can complete what he has promised to do for the country," he added.
Sserunga praised the NRM for restoring peace and stability, arguing that successive governments before 1986 had failed to secure lasting calm.
He also credited the government's civilian veterans programme, from which he benefited in 2016, saying it had significantly improved his welfare.
President Museveni, who was present at the rally, commended Sserunga for his role during the liberation struggle and his continued engagement with local communities.
"I thank God for enabling me to meet my veteran comrade Mzee Burhan Sserunga, the father of Munyagwa, who understands the challenges of our fishing communities," Museveni said. "I will engage him further."
Munyagwa, however, distanced himself sharply from his father's position, insisting that the realities faced by ordinary Ugandans sharply contradict the picture painted by the ruling party.
He argued that nearly four decades of NRM rule have entrenched poverty, unemployment, corruption and declining public services, issues he says require urgent political change rather than continued loyalty to the status quo.
Munyagwa previously served as Member of Parliament for Kawempe South from 2016 to 2021 under the Forum for Democratic Change.
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He is now seeking Uganda's top seat under the Common Man's Party banner, positioning himself as a voice for ordinary citizens and a vocal critic of the long-serving NRM administration.
