NRM to blame for poor political party structures, says UPC faction
Mr Jimmy Akena (L) and Mr Olara Otunnu at UPC party headquarters in Kampala recently. PHOTO BY DOMINIC BUKENYA
What you need to know:
Reason. UPC officials say Opposition political parties’s voices are suffocated
Kampala.
The absence of tangible structures and the crises that have gripped the various political parties in the country is a reflection of the suffocation they have been subjected to by the ruling NRM party since coming to power 30 years ago.
The Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) faction allied to Lira Municipality MP Jimmy Akena said on Wednesday that this stifling is also seen in the failure by the Opposition coalition, The Democratic Alliance, to choose a joint presidential candidate.
“Uganda is reaping the fruits of suffocating political party activities and that is why UPC is focused on restructuring and rebuilding for the next five years before we take power for the third time in the history of Uganda,” Mr Michael Osinde, the spokesperson of the faction, said on Wednesday.
Almost all political parties have factions and pressure groups that have emerged to challenge the incumbent leaders. In DP, a group opposed to how the party president, Mr Norbert Mao, runs the party, formed a pressure group, the Truth and Justice Platform led by Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago. In UPC, Mr Akena is trying to wrestle power from outgoing president, Mr Olara Otunnu.
Similar problems have been experienced in the Conservative Party led by Mr Ken Lukyamuzi, where some members were challenging his hold on leadership. In NRM, former secretary general Amama Mbabazi has joined the Opposition after falling out with party chairman and President Museveni.
UPC Strategy
Mr Osinde said UPC will overlook the 2016 general election and focus on establishing strong grassroots structures that will help in handing it victory in the 2021 general election.
On why their faction invaded the TDA offices and forcefully removed the UPC flag, Mr Osinde said they resorted to that after failing to reach an agreement with TDA management to take down the flag peacefully. The flag has since been hoisted again given that the party remains a member of the alliance.
