NUP party speaks out on diaspora resignations
Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, the NUP party spokesperson
What you need to know:
“These are minor issues which we are handling at party level with Ms Arao. It is true we sat in a meeting with her, told her not to proceed with opening the account but some of the leaders in the diaspora alerted us that she had opened but we are not sure how much money she had collected. She did not remit the money and she did not give us the account details,” Joel Ssenyonyi, NUP party spokesperson
National Unity Platform (NUP) leadership has distanced themselves from allegations of corruption as the reason to why some of their members in the diaspora resigned from coordination roles.
Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, the party spokesperson, told Daily Monitor that four of their members resigned because of personal issues.
“The members who resigned had their reasons. One wanted to go for further studies, another had taken on another job and the other had become busy. These are the resignations we received,” Mr Ssenyonyi said.
Early this year, Mr Henry Ssali, Mr Morris Komakech and Mr Maurice Ogili, resigned from the People Power pressure group.
A few months later, Ms Arao Ameny also resigned citing issues of accountability within the party, especially the money that is solicited from members and supporters.
However, yesterday, some of the leaders in the diaspora teams of Canada and USA indicated that the allegations that had been earlier connected to Ms Arao’s resignation were baseless.
Some of the leaders in the diaspora who didn’t want to be named alleged that Ms Arao registered an account in the names of People Power as the principal signatory in Bank of USA, a decision that was opposed by the party leadership.
Ms Doreen Kajumba, the leader of the Canada chapter, said: ‘‘We have heard the issues that Ms Arao raised to the media. We think she should be more deliberate because she is the one who started these diaspora campaigns and registered an organisation and account where she solicited money.”
Ms Arao admitted that the organisation was in existence. “I am not comfortable to speak to the media but what I can tell is that the account existed but I didn’t take any money out of it…,” Ms Arao said in a WhatsApp call.
Mr Ssenyonyi said Ms Arao asked to be the deputy principal of People Power in the diaspora but the party leadership in Kampala refused to grant her wish.
Mr Joel Ssemakula, the People Power coordinator in Los Angeles, USA, and the treasurer of the diaspora team, said there has been a general accountability flowing to the secretariat every year. This position was reiterated by Ms Aisha Nakijoba Mulumba, another diaspora leader.
