Rwenzori FDC officials divided over Gen Muntu

KABAROLE/KASESE. There are mixed reactions among the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) supporters and delegates in the Rwenzori sub-region following former party president, Maj Gen Mugisha Muntu’s departure from the party.
Gen Muntu last week announced he had quit FDC and formed the New Formation political group, which he says will transit into a political party to be launched before Christmas.

Now, some party officials say they will join the former army commander, while others want to remain in the party.
“Currently, the party here is divided. Majority say we should stay in FDC but others want to join the New Formation. I personally will officially hand over soon and join New Formation, because internal unrest (in FDC) has been too much and we had reached an extent of losing focus,” Ms Nyakato Rusoke, the Kabarole District FDC chairperson, told Daily Monitor on Tuesday.

She was among dozens of district FDC chairpersons who attended Gen Muntu’s unveiling of the New Formation in Kampala.
However, Ms Rusoke said until she officially hands over office, she is still the FDC party chairperson for Kabarole.

Kabarole District has nine party executive members but some of them say they will join the New Formation of Gen Mugisha Muntu.
The Kabarole District FDC general secretary, Mr Robert Mutunzi, also said he is leaving the party to join Gen Muntu, whose ideology of building party structures he believes in.
“I am going with Gen Muntu because I believe in his ideology. Over the years, our party had two ideologies of defiance and building party structures and my mind tells me the best is for Gen Muntu, which is for party structure,” Mr Muntuzi said.

Ms Nightingale Kabadoka, the party secretary for women affairs for Burahya County in Kabarole District, said she will not quit the party.
The Fort Portal Municipality FDC party chairperson, Mr Joram Bitamanya, said although he is still a member of the party, he admires Gen Mugisha Muntu because of his discipline, ideas and tolerance.
The Kabarole FDC youth chairperson, Mr Peter Mwesigwa, said he has been waiting for Gen Muntu to leave the party and also follow him because of his ideology of building party structures since defiance has failed to work in some parts of the country.

In Kasese
Meanwhile, there are also mixed reactions in Kasese District, an FDC stronghold in western Uganda. The district sent only FDC candidates to Parliament. The party also won the district chairperson seat and majority of the councilors are FDC members.
The organising chairman of the New Formation, Mr Yokasi Bihande, is an elder in the district and has been a staunch member of FDC. His wife, Ms Winfred Kiiza is the Kasese Woman MP and the immediate former Leader of Opposition in Parliament.
“We know the objectives of the FDC party. We cannot be shaken but we suspect only the district woman MP Winnie Kiiza, Kasese Municipality MP Robert Centenary and Busongora South MP Jackson Mbaju may cross (to New Formation) at a later time. But we are firm on the ground,” Mr Saul Mate, the district party chairman, said.

“Mugisha Muntu has been in FDC at one time as national mobilser and at another as the party president, so he had a big chance to exercise his rights and agenda using his positions and to make decisions. So he should even apologise to the party for saying that he was suppressed,” he added.
Mr Gideon Ntabose, the Kasese FDC youth league chairperson, has already expressed his intentions to join Gen Muntu.

Ultimatum

Early this week, the FDC party gave a two-week ultimatum to all its officials to declare in writing whether they are still loyal to the party or have shifted allegiance to the Maj Gen Mugish Muntu-led splinter group. Failure to respond to the directive, party secretary general Nandala Mafabi said, “will be treated as renouncement of membership.”

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