After the 1996 Presidential and Parliamentary elections, the NRC was renamed Parliament but up to 2006, the said Parliament and the whole of Uganda operated under a disguised one-party system called the “Movement System” later defined in the High Court as a one-party system. So there was also no Opposition side in Parliament from June 1996 to May 2006.
What acted as opposition were associations such as the Young Parliamentary Group and the Parliamentary Forum (PAFO). faced with both national and international pressures, President Museveni was forced to open up the political space. A referendum was held in July 2005 and the majority voters preferred a return to multiparty politics. The 2006 elections were thus the first multiparty elections, 20 years after the NRA/M takeover.
In this election, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) became the main opposition party. Subsequently, Prof. Morris Ogenga Latigo from Acholi became the sixth Leader of Opposition in the 8th Parliament.
Coming in as MP for Agago County, Prof. Latigo led the Opposition in the House at a time when politicians in Uganda were still suffering a strong hangover of the Movement System in which members operated on individual merit. Transforming from that system into the loyalty and discipline that multiparty-ism demands was difficult and it counts for some of the many challenges that Latigo’s leadership faced in the 8th Parliament.
Prof. Latigo did not make it to the 9th Parliament after a hotly contested election campaign exercise that saw the military take charge of some parts of the election process leaving him and his supporters crying foul.
In the two years of his tenure however, Hon. Mafabi saw through immense successes especially in legislative product among which were the two hotly contested Bills, i.e. the Public Order Management Bill and the Anti-Money Laundering Bill. Hon. Mafabi was however not able to complete a full five-year term in office. The mandatory review that came after two and a half years saw him leave office amidst high tensions largely played in the media. The media tensions resulted from the FDC Party Presidential race which was hotly contested by Hon. Nandala Mafabi, the Leader of Opposition and (Rtrd) Major General Mugisha Muntu was declared winner of the race. Mafabi challenged the results through the party structures and the dispute became a hot media issue leading to a difficult era of the leadership in the party.
As the midterm review of the leadership in Parliament, the FDC Party President, Gen. Mugisha Muntu replaced Hon. Mafabi with Hon. Philip Wafula Oguttu, the MP for Bukoli Central to serve in the remaining period of the term.
Mpuuga took over from Forum for Democratic Change’s Betty Aol Ochan who has been leading legislators from opposition parties including FDC, DP, UPC, CP and JEEMA.
Summary
| # | Name | Portrait | Political Party | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apollo Milton Obote |  |
Uganda People’s Congress | April 1961-April 1962 |
| 2 | Basil Kiiza Bataringaya | Democratic Party | 1962-1964 | |
| 3 | Alex Latim | Democratic Party | 1964-1971 | |
| – | – | – | – | |
| 4 | Paul K. Ssemogerere | Democratic Party | December 1980 – July 1985 | |
| 5 | Morris Ogenga Latigo |  |
Forum for Democratic Change | 2006 – 2010 |
| 6 | Nathan Nandala Mafabi | Forum for Democratic Change | 2011 – 2013 | |
| 7 | Philip Wafula Oguttu | Forum for Democratic Change | 2013 – 2015 | |
| 8 | Winnie Kiiza | Forum for Democratic Change | 2015 – 2018 | |
| 9 | Betty Aol Ochan | 2018-2021 | ||
| 10 | Mathias Mpuuga |  |
National Unity Platform (NUP) | 2021- Incumbent |
The Leader of the Opposition is seen as the alternative Prime Minister or Chief Minister to the incumbent and heads a rival government known as the Shadow Cabinet or Opposition Front Bench.
The leader of Opposition appoints and heads an alternative Shadow Cabinet whose duty is to challenge and influence government legislation on the floor of Parliament.
Other than the Leader of Opposition, a position provided for under Article 81 of the 1995 Constitution as amended in 2005
Attributes: wikipedia
