Singer Ronald Mayinja has opened up about his fallout with 2026 presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, claiming the opposition leader betrayed him during the build-up to the 2021 general elections.
Speaking in a recent interview, Mayinja alleged that his ticket to contest for Gomba East Constituency under the National Unity Platform was secretly handed to another candidate after he had already been cleared to run.
According to the singer, the disagreement traces back to a private meeting held at Sheraton Kampala Hotel with Kyagulanyi ahead of the 2021 polls.
Mayinja said he advised Kyagulanyi against contesting for the presidency at the time, arguing that the move was premature and could undermine efforts to unseat President Yoweri Museveni.
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"I told him we needed a strategy that would not make us look like political jokers," Mayinja said.
Instead, he claims he proposed that Kyagulanyi first run for the position of Lord Mayor of Kampala, then held by Erias Lukwago.
Mayinja argued that leading the city would have allowed Kyagulanyi to build stronger local and international networks while quietly preparing for a presidential bid in the future.
He said the plan would have enabled Kyagulanyi to travel widely, including to destinations such as the United States and Abu Dhabi, to build alliances ahead of the 2026 elections.
"In 2026, we would have surprised everyone by shifting from the mayoral seat to the presidency," he said. "By then the groundwork would have been strong enough to deliver victory."
However, Mayinja said his proposal was rejected during the meeting, which he claims was attended by five people, with him as the only dissenting voice.
He alleged that others present interpreted his advice as sabotage and later convinced Kyagulanyi to disregard it.
Mayinja further claimed that as the party prepared for the 2021 elections, the NUP began selling party tickets to raise funds for campaign activities such as printing posters.
He alleges that his Gomba East ticket was among those affected, eventually being given to Godfrey Saazi, who went on to represent the constituency in the 11th Parliament.
The singer also accused senior party figures, including Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi, of misleading him about his support on the ground.
"They told me to go to Gomba and do background work. But behind my back they had already paid goons to abuse me when I arrived so they could claim I had no support," Mayinja said.
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Once a vocal critic of the ruling government, Mayinja said the experience left him feeling betrayed by individuals he had trusted within the party.
