MP Nsibambi sparks excitement after taking seat on NRM side

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Mawokota South lawmaker Yusuf Nsibambi’s seating arrangement in Parliament on Thursday (March 12) stirred excitement among fellow legislators.

The lawyer and former Kampala District Land Board chairperson took a seat on the ruling party flank.

For context, the opposition sits on the left-hand side of the Speaker, while the ruling party occupies the right. The island in the middle is reserved for, among others, army representatives.

Nsibambi should be noted to have officially crossed to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) in mid last month. Until then, he served as the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Deputy President for Buganda.

A few days before that, Nsibambi had led a delegation of 17 opposition politicians to State House to meet President Yoweri Museveni.

However, Nsibambi’s move on March 12, 2026, to openly mingle with ruling party Members of Parliament (MPs) left Mukono Municipality MP Betty Bakireke Nambooze jittery, prompting her to raise a point of order.

“I saw the excitement about the sitting arrangement that took Honourable Nsibambi to the other side. Wouldn’t it be procedurally okay if I would know if the honourable from Mbarara has also crossed to this side (opposition) so that we can also celebrate?” Nambooze posed.

Speaker responds

However, in response, Speaker Anita Annet Among clarified, “Honourable members, I said from the beginning, free sitting because the members are a little fewer, so they need to be boosted.”

Free sitting implies that members can sit anywhere they desire. Unlike during other sessions, such an action can otherwise be interpreted as crossing the floor or abandoning one’s political affiliation under the law.

It should also be noted that MPs are allowed under the law to change political allegiance within twelve months of a general election.

Nsibambi’s NRM bromance, dialogue initiative

That aside, before crossing to the NRM, Nsibambi on February 5, 2026, led a delegation of 17 opposition lawmakers to State House, Entebbe, to meet President Yoweri Museveni.

The core objective was to initiate dialogue aimed at securing the release of political prisoners, among other issues.

While some individuals, for reasons not known sat out of the official photograph, those visible included Moses Kabuusu of the Katonga Road-based People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), Makindye West contestant Farouk Ntegge and former Kawempe North MP Latif Ssebagala, who are linked to the National Unity Platform (NUP). Kabuusu is also the incumbent Kyamuswa County MP.

However, Nsibambi’s decision to join the NRM and the accompanying political warmth has led many observers to speculate that the much-anticipated dialogue initiative may have stalled.

Speculation intensified on February 20, 2026, when Ssebagala, Kabuusu and Ntegge held a press conference at Speke Hotel without Nsibambi.

Intriguingly, when Ssebagala was asked in which capacity he had organised the meeting, he said he was the “Coordinator of the Dialogue for Peace and Reconciliation.”

“What you must know, this is a voluntary arrangement, and we are here to address the press about that, and definitely, without Honourable Nsibambi, the leadership is on,” Ssebagala stated then.

“For the time being, I am coordinating this programme together with my colleagues,” he emphasised.

He added that in a few days, they would again invite the media at an appropriate time after fully consulting and putting in place various structures on the way forward, including unveiling different stakeholders expected to come on board.

Other side of the coin

However, Kabuusu, while addressing journalists that same day, said they are still in contact with Nsibambi. He added that before the press conference, they had spoken to him and hoped that the NRM would place him in a position to spearhead the dialogue initiative.

“We want to invite honourable Nsibambi: where you went, please do not keep quiet. Keep shouting, talking about dialogue. There are matters that will never be raised in Parliament by raising a point of procedure. I have been in Parliament, and I have been seeing these being done. They have not solved challenges of our children who are in prison, people who are unemployed, urban poor and rural poor,” he implored.