As Expected! FDC’s Yusuf Nsibambi Crosses To NRM Days After Meeting Museveni 

By Frank Kamuntu 

Mawokota South Member of Parliament and Deputy President of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) for the Central Region, Yusuf Nsibambi, has officially crossed to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), declaring that he is ready to take on any assignment in what he described as the “struggle for peace.”

Nsibambi was on Wednesday formally received at the NRM headquarters in Kampala by the party’s First National Vice Chairperson (Female), Anita Among, who welcomed him into the ruling party ranks.

“I have brought Hon. Nsibambi to join NRM. Today, February 18, he has joined NRM. He believes and has said he had known what NRM had done and that since joining Parliament he has seen it and believes he wants to be on the team that delivers for this country,” Among said.

She described the former opposition legislator as a knowledgeable and resourceful leader whose experience would strengthen the party.

Nsibambi, clad in the NRM’s signature yellow attire, said his decision was guided by a desire to contribute more effectively to national development and unity.

“I am ready to join the struggle for peace. I am ready to be given any task to serve our people,” he said.

Frustration With Opposition Politics

A lawyer by profession, Nsibambi has been a long-time legislator and until recently served as Parliamentary Whip for FDC. He also held the position of Shadow Minister for Works and Transport.

However, speaking at the NRM headquarters, the 61-year-old politician expressed frustration with what he described as unproductive opposition politics.

“I am tired of politics of telling people vimba vimba and they kuvimba, nyiga nyiga and they kunyiga. I tried to kuvimba, and it broke my bone,” he said, using a popular local idiom to illustrate his disappointment with confrontational tactics that, in his view, yielded little tangible benefit for citizens.

Nsibambi cited recent parliamentary debates, including discussions surrounding the Coffee Bill and other national policies, arguing that opposition criticism often failed to influence final outcomes in the House.

He said he now believes that engaging constructively with the ruling establishment offers a more practical pathway toward peace, stability and inclusive governance.

Meeting With Museveni

His defection follows a recent meeting with President Yoweri Museveni, which he attended alongside several other opposition MPs. The meeting drew mixed reactions within opposition circles.

Nsibambi’s shift comes amid what observers describe as a broader political realignment ahead of the 2026–2031 parliamentary term, with several opposition figures reportedly gravitating toward the ruling party.

At the NRM headquarters, Nsibambi said he hopes his experience on both sides of Uganda’s political divide will enable him to contribute to a “peaceful, stable and inclusive political environment.”