Internal divisions within Uganda’s Democratic Party (DP) continue to deepen amid disagreements over the party’s cooperation agreement with the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), leadership disputes, and concerns about governance within the party.
Speaking publicly, DP Vice President for the Western Region, Hajji Imam Makumbi, said the party has been grappling with persistent internal conflicts, many of which he linked to the 2022 cooperation agreement between the DP and the NRM.
Makumbi said the decision by DP President General Norbert Mao to accept the position of Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs in President Yoweri Museveni’s government created significant divisions within the party. According to him, several party leaders, including DP Vice President Mukasa Mbidde and other members, have challenged Mao’s leadership, arguing that the cooperation agreement was reached without adequate consultation and has primarily benefited the party president.
He also pointed to disputes surrounding delegates’ conferences, alleging that some party meetings, including a delegates’ conference in Mbarara, were characterized by violent confrontations, disputed delegates’ lists, and claims that rival candidates seeking to challenge Mao were excluded from participating.
Makumbi further said some members, including those associated with the “DP at Heart” youth group, have raised concerns over the management and accountability of party finances, alleging misuse of public funding and party revenues. Those allegations have not been independently verified.
According to Makumbi, the continued internal disagreements and the cooperation agreement have weakened the party’s traditional support, particularly in the Buganda region, with many supporters reportedly defecting to the National Unity Platform (NUP).
Beyond the party’s internal disputes, Makumbi criticized the DP leadership for failing to convene a meeting of the National Executive Committee (NEC), saying the party had remained silent despite what he described as growing reports of arbitrary arrests, torture, and enforced disappearances involving opposition figures.
“We are supposed to be the voice of the voiceless,” Makumbi said. “But where is our position? How can human rights violations escalate to this magnitude, and yet our leadership chooses to bury its head in the sand? We cannot claim to be a democratic party if our own National Executive Committee fears to sit, discuss, and state the party’s official stance on the abuses our people are facing.”
He argued that the party’s failure to issue an official position risks distancing it from the citizens it seeks to represent.
Makumbi called on the party leadership to immediately convene a National Executive Committee meeting to deliberate on the reported human rights concerns, develop a strategy for protecting civic space, and address what he described as declining internal democracy within the party.
“The party belongs to the people, not to a few individuals in Kampala,” he said. “We must stand up for justice, and that fight begins by putting our own house in order and speaking the truth to power without compromise. I am not here to fight the President General. I am here because silence is also a position. And right now, our silence is being read as consent.”
Uganda Young Democrats President Emeritus Ismael Kiirya
Meanwhile, Uganda Young Democrats President Emeritus Ismael Kiirya echoed the call for the NEC to convene, saying the committee is constitutionally mandated to determine the party’s official position on national issues.
According to Kiirya, the DP constitution requires the National Executive Committee to meet at least once every quarter, but he said the last meeting was held several months ago.
“We have a constitution. We have structures. We have a Secretary General’s office. And yet, no NEC has been called to discuss the acts of human rights violations happening in this country. No NEC to agree on the party’s position regarding these acts. What do we say when a mother asks us, ‘DP, where are you?'” Kiirya said.
Kiirya also used a metaphor to describe the party’s current situation, saying the Democratic Party “caught fire,” with some members acknowledging the crisis while others had previously downplayed it.
He said Makumbi, whom he claimed had previously appeared unconcerned about the party’s internal problems, had now publicly expressed disappointment over developments within the DP.
Kiirya urged party members to remain calm, expressing confidence that, in his view, those who forcefully took control of the party would eventually “self-destruct.”
The Democratic Party leadership had not publicly responded to the remarks made by Makumbi and Kiirya at the time of publication.
