By Our Reporter
Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) splinter group party members under the leadership of Dr. Kiiza Besigye and Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago have been accused of mooting a deadly plan seeking to cause deregistration of the party when they recently held a meeting at Dr.Besigye’s office at Katonga road in Kampala out of which a number of resolutions were passed.
Notable among the resolution was the one seeking to suspend the party president Patrick Amuriat Oboi, Secretary General Nathan Nandala Mafabi, party Treasurer General Geoffrey Ekanya and party’s chief electoral commissioner Boniface Toterebuka Bamwenda whom they said mismanaged the party.
The Tuesday 19 September 2023 ‘extra ordinary delegates conference’ which was held in disregard of a High Court injunction stopping the same until the main application has been heard, was chaired by the party’s chairperson Wasswa Biriggwa.
Sources in Katonga road camp who preferred to share information on condition of anonymity told this website that the conveners of the meeting had intended to use the meeting gather the member’s signatures that would later be used in support of their documents to the national Electoral Commission (EC) which is mandated with regulating the political party activities, considering the party constitution requirement of the two thirds majority to justify their actions.
According to sources, the idea geared to cause deregistration of the party was conceived during one of the protracted meetings that were being held that by the time the October 6th 2023 delegates conference reaches, the party will be no more.
Sources allege that the plan was to destroy the party in a version of the October 6th 2023 Najjanankumbi administration ordinary delegates conference which once is successfully held, will hammer the last nail in their coffin politically.
According to the sources, initially deregistration of the party was among the food on the main menu that was to be served before it could later be dropped.
The party’s file essential documents at the national EC offices including the lists for all gazetted duly party elected leaders had been tampered with as they were removed from the file to dry by yet unknown characters, which prompted legitimate concern from the commission to party leaders who made a swift move to thwart the plot, according to sources.
Sources allege that tampering with file was a strategy to invite the regulator respond punitively against the main party leadership to favor the antagonists.
Our efforts to seek a comment from the commission’s chairperson justice Simon Byabakama on the matter were futile as he could not answer our calls.
It is also said by the sources that the Kitgum Municipality MP Denis Onekaliti, Buhweju county MP Francis Mwijukye and Kira Municiplaity MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda were the drivers of the said clandestine move under the legal advice of lord mayor Erias Lukwago.
Sources further allege that the party’s deputy secretary general Harold Kaija also allied to the Katonga group will any time from now be submitting the resolutions of the Katonga extra ordinary delegates’ conference to the EC as one way of blocking the forthcoming national party delegates’ conference.
This website made efforts of seeking a comment from Onekaliti, Mwijukye and Ssemujju about the matter but in vain as they could not pick our calls by the time this report was compiled.
However, the FDC acting Spokesperson Hon. Robert Centenary lashed out at the Katonga group for selfishly playing politics of double standards and gallery.
“They have been saying in the media that they don’t believe in the Electoral Commission, now they believe in it, what changed this time?”
Centenary also wondered as to why they cling on the party that no longer serve their political interests as they claim.
Fake Delegates in the Katonga Delegates Conference
It has emerged that some of the delegates that were called to attend the Biriggwa held extra ordinary conference at Katonga were not genuine.
Cited among them is the former FDC chairperson for Kasese district Saul Matte who lost to Eng Ronald Kabuku during the just concluded party structure elections.
Kabuku said in an interview that he was invited in his capacity as current chairperson to attend the same meeting on reason that they were just going to have a conversation on how best the party can reunite members since the extra ordinary delegates conference had been injuncted by court, but to his surprise they ended up seeing the meeting taking another direction which they didn’t support.
“When the moment for speeches came it is the former chairperson Matte who was told to speak” Kabuku wondered.
He disowned the meeting resolution purporting to suspend the senior party leaders, calling them unlawful.
