During the “good old days” of the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC), the stalwarts would go around chanting UPC everywhere, UPC everybody to make it look like there was nobody espousing a varying political demur.
However, reality dawned on them when the Democratic Party (DP) pulled the rug under their feet at the ballot. It was hard to fathom how a party which was everywhere would see empty boxes at the poll. The same milieu is playing out presently in the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).
The aphorism of One Uganda, One People is slowly but surely becoming a hard bargain internally. It has been a long way coming, right from the delegates conference that brought Eng Patrick Oboi Amuriat at the helm, the political waters have been roiling till a clear crack was evident to all and sundry. The slithering pace of Gen Mugisha Muntu to form the splinter Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) dealt a telling blow to the core of FDC by exposing the slinking steps of its Members of Parliament (MPs) from the mainstream to open opposition of the leadership.
The delegates conference clearly exposed the glaring gurgle that had hitherto been kept in check by the presence of the over-domineering stature of founding president Dr Kizza Besigye. However, with the advent of Amuriat, this could no longer hold and ¾ of the MPs jumped ship and started hobnobbing with Gen Muntu, leaving a handful of them who espouse the FDC line of thinking.
The question now is can FDC still claim to be the opposition voice when the majority of its MPs oppose the official line and have found solace in the new formation? It is rumored that out of the 36 MPs, 29 have either crossed to Gen Muntu’s ANT or are sitting on the fence with a possibility of heading to any political outfit that can sweet talk them including the NRM.
The split is turning out to be acrimonious if what is in the media is anything to go by. The splinter group is only being held back by legalities that cannot allow a cross over till the final year of the term, but all purposes and intents indicate the MPs are on the way to Canaan.
The rancor within the FDC came to the fore on the morning political talk show on NBS tv, one side represented by Mr. Robert Centenary (Kasese Municipality) and the other by Mr. Francis Mwijukye (Buhweju).
Watching them tear themselves to shreds, one would be inveigled to think that they have never belonged to the same party. The vitriol with which they dismissed each other, the name-calling and outright abusive language would put anyone of them in the medal bracket if hulling insults was an accredited Olympic discipline. It showed the depth of the split, mistrust and the political ramifications in the wide opposition space.
Accusations and counter-accusations of moles, gold diggers and fraudsters left the viewers in shock, wondering how Kasese – the bedrock of FDC in parliament has slipped away, leaving it a shell of its former self. It is now hard to fathom FDC’s strength of the hitherto strongholds like Kasese.
Severally, Paul Mwiru (Jinja East) has openly opposed the leadership of Mr. Amuriat and his policies and this further leaves one wondering where this leaves FDC in Busoga, given that it is only Mwiru in the entire region representing FDC. Does the waning support among MPs reflect dire straits on the ground? How will it affect the candidature of Dr. Besigye? The entry of Bobi WIne’s People Power and Gen Muntu’s ANT crowds the opposition space and makes it hard to get a compromise candidate when the kingmakers are not on talking terms. It will take a lot of soul searching to strike a convergence of minds.
On the TV show, Mr. Mwijukye portrayed a picture of a person ready to throw punches at his compatriots, just to show disdain for their move out of the FDC fold. The conduct of the Buhweju County legislator clearly shows how paranoid the mainstream FDC is, towards those joining Gen Muntu.
The slur and indignation expressed has always been a preserve for bashing NRM, but now it is bare knuckles for fellow opposition. This attitude has pervaded the whole opposition. What is happening in FDC is also in DP, UPC, where there is leadership contestation. Different power centers exist that cannot allow a unified position to flourish.
DP President General Nobert Mao is being challenged by a faction of Buganda region, despite the effort to close ranks. Butambala MP Muwanga Kivumbi has branded him an NRM project intended to scuttle any chances of fielding a unified opposition candidate, all this happening amidst calls for the formation of regional blocks in the Democratic party (DP). DP being stronger in Buganda, this puts Mr. Mao in a precarious position, being a president of DP, yet coming from Acholi where DP support is mercurial, portrays him as a liability to the party and thus the fervent calls by Buganda MPs to him to hold his horses.
It may not be easy to sweet talk him out of his conviction to stand, on many occasions he has said that it is time for DP to stop being a bride’s maid and be the bride itself. This is expected to be an absorbing and bloody fight leaving many licking political wounds.