Politics
Minister Bahati, Tycoon Kavuya Deny Claims of UGX 800M Campaign Debt
State Minister for Trade, Industry and Cooperatives (Industry) David Bahati and prominent businessman Ben Kavuya have both come out strongly to dismiss claims that the minister is indebted to the tycoon to the tune of UGX 800 million for political campaigns.
In a statement issued this week, Kavuya rubbished reports circulating on social media alleging that Bahati had borrowed approximately UGX 800 million (about $210,000) to finance his National Resistance Movement (NRM) activities.
“I wish to categorically state that I have never lent Hon. David Bahati any such money for campaigns or otherwise,” Kavuya said. “These claims are false and misleading.”
The clarification came after online reports alleged that Bahati, who has represented Kabale District in Parliament since 2006, was drowning in campaign-related debts owed to multiple lenders, including informal money lenders based in Kampala.
Minister Bahati also issued a scathing rebuttal, branding the allegations as politically motivated “fake news” propagated by opponents seeking to tarnish his name.
“I have no time for such dim-witted fake news purveyors and their moron sponsors,” Bahati said in a sharply worded statement. “Two weeks ago, they also concocted that I had evicted the NRM party from my building in Kabale town—yet I’ve never been a landlord to NRM in any part of Uganda.”
The minister, who has also served as the NRM district chairman for Kabale for over 20 years, dismissed suggestions that he plans to resign from the party leadership or has fallen out with the ruling party.
He described the allegations as “misleading, baseless, and unfounded,” asserting that the public should not give attention to what he termed “fabrications meant to divert and confuse.”
“My enemies are shameless and blockheaded individuals who find nothing wrong in telling lies that can easily be disproven,” Bahati added. “They think they can use blackmail and propaganda to bring me down—but they won’t succeed.”
He urged the public to ignore the rumors and treat such reports with the contempt they deserve, stating that social media chatter cannot be equated to factual journalism.
“This is not news. These are just opinions from individuals with twisted minds and zero regard for the truth or decency,” Bahati concluded.
The controversy highlights the rising trend of misinformation targeting political figures as Uganda gears up for heightened political activity ahead of the next election cycle.
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