Who is Abed Bwanika? Inside the Life of Uganda’s Opposition MP and Party Leader

Updated by Faith Barbara Ruhinda at 0730 EAT on Friday 1 August 2025

In our Special Series, Senior Citizens, today we profile Dr. Abed Bwanika (born August 1, 1967) is a Ugandan veterinarian, pastor, and politician. He currently serves as the Member of Parliament for Kimanya-Kabonera Constituency.

Bwanika is the president of the People’s Development Party, a small opposition party, but won his parliamentary seat under the National Unity Platform (NUP), Uganda’s youngest political party, led by Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu.

After earning his first degree, Bwanika remained at Makerere University as a graduate tutor, conducting research while pursuing a second degree. In 2001, he left academia and private veterinary consultancy to establish the Christian Witness Church.

Politically, Bwanika initially supported President Yoweri Museveni in the 1996 election but shifted his allegiance to Kizza Besigye by 2001. He ran as an independent candidate in the February 2006 presidential election, finishing fourth with 0.95 percent of the vote, totaling 65,874 votes.

Bwanika contested the February 2011 presidential election as the candidate and founder of the People’s Development Party, which he also leads. He received 51,708 votes—about 14,000 fewer than in 2006—garnering 0.65 percent of the popular vote.

In August 2020, Bwanika left the People’s Development Party to join the National Unity Platform (NUP). In the 2021 general election, he was elected to Parliament representing the Kimanya-Kabonera constituency in Masaka City.

Abed Bwanika is married to Gladys Namusuwe, a fish biologist and lecturer in the Department of Zoology at Makerere University. The couple has been married since 1995 and has four sons: Wise, Decent, Chosen, and Delight.

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