FDC officials in trouble over Museveni meeting

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Mr Okoya said the registration officials told him Mr Mapenduzi had directed them not to register any of the five councillors who met Mr Museveni until their issues of indiscipline had been resolved.

GULU.

Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party councillors in northern region, who met President Museveni in Gulu Town late last month, are facing hard times from their colleagues who accuse them of sinister motives.

The councillors are: Mr Balington P’ongwech, LC5 councillor for Bungatira Sub-county; Mr Franciso Watdok, LC5 councillor for Koro Sub-county; Mr Patrick Komakech of Patiko sub-county; Mr Chris Owen Okoya of Pallaro Sub-county and Mr Kenneth Nyeko of Ongako Sub-county.

They are accused of receiving Shs2m each to defect to NRM.

The councillors met President Museveni when he was launching the NRM party members registration in Gulu last month. They have since come under fire from the FDC district chairman Martin Ojara Mapenduzi over what he described as breaching party ethics to meet Mr Museveni without knowledge of the party hierarchy in the district.

Mr Mapenduzi is also Gulu LC5 chairman.
On Tuesday, two of the five councillors, Mr Komakech and Mr Okoya, complained that they had been blocked from registering and participating in the ongoing FDC grassroots elections in Gulu District which started last week.

Mr Komakech, who is also the Gulu District FDC spokesperson, told Sunday Monitor on Tuesday that he had been blocked from participating in any party activity in the district.

“I have tried to find out what is happening concerning registration but I am being sidelined intentionally by Mr Mapenduzi. His actions are causing disunity in the party. I want to assure Mr Mapenduzi that if we are not allowed to register or participate in monitoring FDC grassroots elections, we shall take the matter to court because the party headquarters is not responding,” said Mr Komakech.

Mr Okoya said FDC officials conducting the grassroots elections had stopped him last Saturday from being registered, claiming that he had defected to the NRM.

“I was denied details on the ongoing grassroots polls yet I am still an active FDC party member,” he said.

Mr Okoya said the registration officials told him Mr Mapenduzi had directed them not to register any of the five councillors who met Mr Museveni until their issues of indiscipline had been resolved.

However, Mr Mapenduzi said no one had blocked the councillors from the grassroots party elections. He said the party members were only feeling uncomfortable with the five councillors following their secret meeting with the President.

“I have no mandate to stop these councillors from participating in the party activities. Majority of the members at the moment think they are moles. Even their own electorates are shunning them,” Mr Mapenduzi said.

Last week, the councillors were thrown out of a meeting for training presiding officers for grassroots elections on grounds that they had not been invited.

They petitioned the FDC party president, Maj Gen (rtd) Mugisha Muntu, to intervene and halt the elections, saying they had been treated unfairly.

They say they have not received a feedback from Maj Gen Muntu.

FDC grassroots polls are for electing grassroots party structures. The elections kicked off countrywide on Monday last week.