Opinion divided over a new party as FDC Katonga consults

There is an emerging split in opinion within the ranks of the Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC)-Katonga faction over whether to form a completely new political party.

However, while early views appear divided, the one thing all leaders seem unanimous about is the need to allow all party members have a say on the issue.

With the 2026 General Election looming, the splinter group’s National Council on Wednesday agreed to cast the net wider in search of a national consensus, a position which yesterday saw party elders making arguments for and against the proposal.

On Thursday morning, Mr Wafula Oguttu, a founding member, acknowledged the idea of forming a new organisation, but cautioned this would not be the best option.

Mr Oguttu said while a new party would be useful for elections, it falls short of their primary objective – which is to get President Museveni out of office.

“Our focus is to remove Mr Museveni, and it’s not the party that can remove him, because even if the party is formed tomorrow, it will be taken by Mr Museveni with money,” he said.

Mr Oguttu, who was Leader of the Opposition in Parliament between January 2014 and June 2016, instead backed the proposal for a social movement around which members coalesce as their best bet for removing Mr Museveni.

Unlike a political party which can be compromised, he said the President has no power to sabotage an idea or mass consciousness.

However, he said now that the issue has been left for members to decide, he would not oppose them if they choose to form a new political party.

Mr Wafula’s preference endorses the views of FDC’s founding leader, Dr Kizza Besigye, who also urged members during the Wednesday meeting to see a social movement uniting people from all formations as more favourable.

“Forming a new party is a good idea but it also has its own challenges,” Dr Besigye said. “We have not organised ourselves to use elections for struggle, but they too could be used for struggle, but that does not take away that in order to fight we must unite,” he added.

Disappointment

Fellow elder, Mr Dan Wandera Ogalo, took an expansive view, saying it is normal for people to form political parties. However, as FDC founding members Mr Ogalo said it is disappointing to see FDC collapsing.

“For us who built FDC, of course we look at it with disappointment. We would be happy if the party was still intact. But our disappointment cannot override the rights of members,” he said.

Like other leaders, Mr Ogalo agreed that all ideas be put before party members to decide.

The Wednesday National Council meeting held in Kampala looked at six alternatives, including the unlikely possibility of reconciling with the Najjanankumbi faction, but agreed to leave the final decision to a planned National Delegate’s conference expected at a date to be set in two months’ time.

The party firebrand, Mr Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, has urged members not to focus on what to call the platform on which their efforts are staged.

“Dr Besigye led us here in 2011 when we went to the streets to protest during ‘Walk to Work’. We started as Action for Change (A4C), mid-way Museveni took over A4C and we became For God and My Country, and we were willing to continue changing names because for me a name doesn’t matter,” Mr Ssemujju said.

“I want to be spending the rest of my life fighting to rescue Uganda not Najjanankumbi,” Mr Ssemujju said.

Yesterday, Ms Proscovia Salaamu Musumba, the FDC Katonga’s interim deputy president Eastern Region, was equally open-minded.

“When you are in the field, you use anything available and that option is available and we are pursuing it as well. Everything we mentioned is on the table and we are pursuing it,” Ms Musumba said.

Talk about a new party comes months after the bitter split of FDC mid-last year over allegations that Mr Patrick Oboi Amuriat and Mr Nathan Nandala Mafabi, president and secretary general of the Najjanankumbi bloc, respectively, had sold out to President Museveni – an allegation they denied.

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