Masaka DP leaders suspend Mbidde as district chairperson

MPs Florence Namayanja, Mathias Mpuuga, Robinah Ssentongo other DP leaders in Masaka during the meeting on Febuary 22, 2020. PHOTO BY WILSON KUTAMBA

Democratic Party (DP) leaders in Masaka District have suspended their district party chairperson, Mr Fred Mukasa Mbidde, accusing him of incompetence and failure to convene meetings.

During a meeting at Patel Shamij hall in Masaka Town on Saturday, party members including parish, sub county and constituency DP leaders accused Mr Mbidde of fueling chaos in the party and hobnobbing with members of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM).

“Effective today February 22, 2020, Mr Fred Mukasa Mbidde is no longer the chairperson of Masaka District DP branch, district delegates who elected him have withdrawn the authority until further notice ,” Bukoto East MP Florence Namayanja said amid clapping and cheering from other party members.

She also declared her intention to contest for the district DP chairperson seat.

The same meeting was also attended by DP legal advisor Samuel Muyizi, MPs Joseph Ssewungu (Kalungu West), Robinah Ssentongo (Woman Kyotera District), Muhammad Muwanga Kivumbi (Butambala County), DP bloc member Dr Abed Bwanika and the suspended party national organising secretary Sulaiman Kidandala.

Mr Kidandala said during the meeting that he is still the substantive organising secretary and is currently traversing the country to oversee the ongoing internal grass root party elections.

Mr Kidandala was suspended by the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) on February 14 on grounds that he defied the party directives and issuing parallel register books causing confusion which has affected implementation of the party roadmap. Mr Kidandala was replaced by his deputy Shafiq Ddembe.

Mr Muyizi said Masaka party branch members had acted within the confines of DP constitution to suspend Mbidde and advised him to go to court if he is dissatisfied with their decision.

However, when contacted on Sunday, Mr Mbidde who also doubles as the party vice president, scoffed at the conveners of the meeting saying they don’t have the powers to suspend him. He described their action as “an act of desperation and mere nuisance”.

“The framers of DP constitution of 1952 forgot to give them such powers. What they did has only propaganda value before those who take the likes of Honourable Namayanja serious, fortunately I am not among those,” he said.

“I have been Masaka District DP chairperson for two terms, during my first term she [Namayanja] was a councilor in Kampala engaging in the business of collecting garbage, that is a job I have never thought about in my life, I have a record to talk about, I have been and remain an intellectual and I have never thought about that,” he added.

Mr Mbidde also accused Ms Namayanja of violating the party constitution by convening such a meeting without the knowledge of the district party executive .

“By the way, Honourable Namayanja is a mere member of the Masaka District branch, I don’t have evidence that she said those words attributed to her, however, as the district branch, once such evidence is collected, we shall sit and execute disciplinary proceedings against her in the interim , she should be comparing notes with Mr Sulaiman Kidandala,” he said.

He said the party executive committee has called a for crisis meeting on Monday (today), to discuss endless infighting among party members in Masaka District.