Mao’s Leadership Woes: A Tale of Pumpkin-Watermelon Politics

If you want to fly with eagles, don’t swim with ducks, this shibboleth summarises Mao’s tenure at the helm of the Democratic Party leadership. His leadership has been a mixed bag of eagles and ducks struggling to outdo each other in a field where none is skilled enough to deliver a telling blow to the nemesis.

Imagine a scenario where eagles are challenged to showcase their skills at a swimming contest with ducks and vice versa. A firebrand Mao with all the oratory and enunciation had been touted as a breath of fresh air in the waning political fortunes of DP. At that time, Mao was not only a perfect choice but the only choice to galvanize the warring factions. However, what he failed to realize was that DP is a hotchpotch of ducks and eagles trying to outsmart each other in areas neither is skilled or equipped to outwit the other. By any measure, Mao stands out of the crowd, if the qualification was purely leadership acumen, but he falls short of the glory of tribal bigots like Betty Nambooze and company.

The biggest Achilles heel for DP is a lack of respect for leadership. Even those who assumed certain positions like MPs and councilors, due to other reasons rather than acumen and capability, tend to belittle office bearers who are not seen to be high profile. Unless the aim is to compare cheese and chalk, what is it comparable between Nambooze and Mao in terms of leadership qualities? Nambooze, being a member of parliament, makes her feel more important than the DP president who is not.

Wrangles have been awash since Mao assumed office, but these wrangles form the bedrock of DP’s historical survival instincts. Turbulence is part of the DP genome. At every round of party elections, there are factions bitterly opposed to each other, the one that loses mutates into a lifeline that keeps DP afloat, by keeping it in the media through altercations and sideshows, as they engage in shadow boxing. Without these theatrics, DP would go in oblivion like Ken Lukyamuzi’s Conservative Party.

Having no viable alternative policies, most opposition parties have found themselves irrelevant and confined to party headquarters. This is because they lack the allure of the national outlook. DP is more of a regional outfit masquerading as a national party. Mao is an alien in the party he leads.

In Mbale, Mao was actually picked and not elected with a tribal velleity in mind. Mao was picked “even if” rather than, “even when” he is an Acholi. He was the best candidate in both quality and tribal balance. The DP has been struggling with negligible success to calibrate the tribal yoke. Mao offered a rare opportunity to obfuscate the tribal undertones, though this didn’t mean acceptance.

The current wrangles should be seen in the composition of NEC.  Almost half of it is composed of officials in an acting capacity for several years. It has been a strategy to hedge his grip on the formal party leadership. This has been a big accusation by those opposed to him with calls for accountability. However, that group is silent about Mao’s big achievement of buying the first own headquarters in the history of DP.

Mao’s stance not to follow the people power bandwagon is seen as a subtle attempt to scuttle the chances of a Muganda. The DP block, that has unilaterally endorsed Bobi Wine for president, is outside the formal decision making organs. Mao insists that no decision is yet taken, and any coalition must come from a well-structured dialogue. All members in the DP block are only posturing as a way to either retain their seats or boost the chances of grabbing one. They know that Bobi Wine is a passing meteor that must be seized before it flickers away. So, they must be seen to fight for him to boost their chances, especially in Buganda.

The intriguing thing is that both sides accuse each other of being moles for the NRM party. The metaphorical use of pumpkins and watermelons is intended to paint each other a spook. The accusations and counter-accusations form the fodder that feeds the rumor mill in DP which is a hallmark of its survival instincts. The membership registration which is supposed to be a continuous task of committee members is only undertaken at the time of elections. This is a big fuss because the very people in charge of supervising an election, are actually contestants in the same election. This is where Sulaiman Kidandala, as organizing secretary was acting contrary to the decisions of the Executive committee, leading to his dismissal. He had formulated the green papers, contrary to the ones with a seal. This was intended to ensure that the delegates at the National conference are well crafted to defeat Mao at the ballot in favor of anyone from the DP block, who must be a Muganda. It is more interesting, when people like Namboze and Erias Lukwago who have distanced themselves from DP for a full Mao tenure and part of the FDC “people’s government”, are now back in the fray, articulating ideas that portray Mao as a failure.

Personal interests between Mathias Mpuuga and Fred Mukasa Mbidde have formed another faultline. Both are vying for the Masaka Municipality MP seat with the Mpuuga faction portraying Mbidde as a mole on the NRM payroll. While Masaka remains a DP stronghold, the continued fighting renders a chance to NRM to capture it. Mukasa Mbidde is taunted as a non-Muganda but Masaka is dicey to play a tribal card. Masaka is a melting pot of tribes and going by the elected leaders in greater Masaka, its clear, the Baganda are a minority. So, Mpuuga playing a tribal card may be disastrous given the fact that blood is thicker than politics. These fights work better for NRM which wants to pick the spoils and confine DP to Buganda without establishing a foothold in the other parts of Uganda. The NRM made a huge score when it fished former DP national chairman Muhammad Baswale Kezaala. His absence in the Busoga region greatly affected the visibility of the DP and the subsequent failure to attract new blood. This explains why all MPs are from Buganda and this number is likely to be affected by these fights. What is most intriguing on either side, each is working to ensure that none goes through in the general-elections.

It will take a lot of soul-searching for the factions to put party interests above personal wishes for DP to surmount another round of infighting. What is clear, however, is that it is going to take a while for a non-Muganda to be accepted as a worthwhile leader of DP. There is no doubt that there has been an attempt to use Mao as a guinea pig in an attempt to shed off the yoke of tribal jingoism but the trial has fallen flat on its face.  A common adage runs that fire begets ashes, a vibrant DP with visionary leaders like Ben Kiwanuka has degenerated into a tribal enclave occupied by self-seekers.