Is it time to write Mao’s political obituary?

For future reference. In one or two months’ time, DP president Norbert Mao, hopes to release his prison diaries, which he has written under the working title Letters From Nakasongola. It embodies his “stories and reflections” when he was incarcerated in the Nakasongola Prison during the Walk-to-Work protests. Then in a year’s time, Mr Mao hopes to publish his life’s story under the title Tomorrow Will Come, writes Eriasa Mukiibi Sserunjogi.

But Mr Kakande maintains that it was critical for UYD to hold elections, lest it risks dying.
Mr Kakande “stepped aside” as leader of UYD in 2010 when he became more active in DP politics and his position had not been filled because the UYD delegates’ conference had not been held since then.

Whereas Mr Mao says there was a DP National Executive Committee (NEC) resolution that UYD should postpone its elections, Mr Kakande argues that it was not actually a resolution of NEC but a ruling by the chairman.
In any case, Mr Kakande adds, the UYD NEC is “the only body which can decide on UYD matters.”
But what was so urgent that they even had to defy the party’s leadership?

==========================================

How Christianity gave raise to young democrats

A student leader at Makerere University then, Mr Luzige was inspired by an encounter with the European Young Christian Democrats when he attended a conference in Brussels in 1993 on the recommendation of the then DP leader Paul Ssemogerere.

On return, he teamed up with friends to found what they originally called the Uganda Youth Christian Democrats, which changed to UYD soon afterwards to accommodate non-Christians like the current Butambala MP Muwanga Kivumbi.
John Ssebaana Kizito, who was acting as DP treasurer then even if political parties were officially banned, became the patron of the organisation, a position he has held to-date.

But even at that early stage, leadership wrangles within UYD were not uncommon. In fact, Luzige would himself later be sacked from UYD, accused of “working for the ruling NRM”. He denies the charge to this day, although he later joined the ruling party and is currently a legal officer in the Office of the President. Another prominent founding member of the UYD who has since joined the ruling NRM is its vice president, Rose Namayanja, who is currently minister of state for Luwero Triangle and Woman MP for Nakaseke District. Social Democratic Party President Michael Mabikke who was one of the early members of UYD also quit DP.

But the bulk of UYD products still identify with DP and occupy important positions in the party and national politics, albeit split up in different factions. Samuel Lubega, who contested the national presidency in 2011 as an independent, having pulled out of the race for DP presidency which Norbert Mao eventually won in 2010, was also a member of UYD. Mao, DP Publicity Secretary Kenneth Kakande, Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, and Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze were also bred in UYD.

Although the founders of UYD had a DP background, the organisation was formed as autonomous from DP, with its own constitution. Even when DP regained legal status as a national party in 2005, Kakande says, it wrote a constitution that does not even mention UYD.

This means, at least in Kakande’s view, that DP can advise but not direct UYD on what to do. On two previous occasions, Kakande adds, UYD had taken advice from DP to postpone its elections until this third time when they decided to go on regardless of the advice to the contrary from DP. But Mao says that if UYD don’t want to be members of DP, “they should put it in writing.” Mao says that the “de facto” situation is that UYD has always been a part of DP, using DP’s headed paper and Post Office box number, for example.

==========================================
Mao’s early life

Born to an Acholi father and a Munyankole mother 46 years ago, Mao lived in Gulu with his paternal grandmother and aunt until he was 12. Under the care of people he calls “strict disciplinarians”, he was required to wake up early and do some digging before going to school.

He later joined Wairaka College in Jinja District for the first two years of his secondary education before joining Namilyango College. Of Namilyango College Mao speaks most fondly and the first born of his two sons, Nicholas, 13, must be proud to attend the same school of which his father was once head prefect.

On joining Makerere University in 1988, Mao was sure he wanted to build a career in politics. His father always supported the Uganda Peoples Congress but he was willing to help when Mao asked for support to be linked to DP politicians. His father accordingly wrote for him chits which he presented to prominent DP politicians by way of introduction.

This gave Mao licence to meet up with DP leaders at a then popular restaurant called Kentucky on Johnson Street in Kampala, in the process getting particularly close to the late Ojok Mulozi, who was then the party’s publicity secretary. Mao says Mulozi mentored him “in terms of the intellectual orientation of the party.”