Police summon FDC leaders over Museveni campaign

The FDC party deputy secretary general, addressing journalists during their weekly press conference at the party headquarters in Najjanankumbi, Kampala, in 2018. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • It is now a common dress code among the People Power group led by Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, the Kyadondo East MP. Since falling out with former party president Gen Mugisha Muntu, who formed his own faction; New Formation, FDC has embarked on recruitment and mobilisation of new party members.

Kampala. Police in Ngora District have summoned five Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) leaders over the ongoing campaign dubbed ‘Museveni must go.’

The FDC party deputy secretary general, Mr Harold Kaija, told journalists during their weekly press conference at the party headquarters in Najjanankumbi, Kampala, that the summoned leaders had been doing grassroots mobilisation to revitalise the party structures.

“Police need to know that FDC as a party is mandated, mainly, with the role of removing the political junta. They need to remain partisan in their work and not interfering with what the party must be pre-occupied with,” he said.

The FDC leaders summoned early yesterday were led by Ms Sarah Eperu, the women’s league spokesperson, Mr Simon Peter Okello, the chairperson Mukuro Sub-county, Mr Patrick Ameru, the general secretary Mukuro Sub-county, Mr Michael Olaboro, the Ngora District secretary general, and Mr Moses Omiat Kapiri, the sub-county chairperson.

The Ngora District police commander, Mr Nathan Male, said the leaders had been inciting violence in public by issuing red T-shirts with inscriptions indicating, ‘Museveni Must Go.’

“We are not against them campaigning but they should not use inciting words and mentioning names. This is why we summoned them to our offices and held a meeting about the same,” Mr Male said.

“After they held their gatherings last month without informing us, we invited the organisers. We didn’t invite FDC officials, it was after we swung in action that they started coming up and claiming they are from FDC,” he added.

Mobilisation
The red t-shirts and ribbons have become a common emblem for the Opposition political parties. They came into existence mainly during the MPs’ countrywide consultations on the amendment of the Constitution on presidential age limit.

It is now a common dress code among the People Power group led by Mr Robert Kyagulanyi, the Kyadondo East MP. Since falling out with former party president Gen Mugisha Muntu, who formed his own faction; New Formation, FDC has embarked on recruitment and mobilisation of new party members.