Speaker’s election,  and  NRM’s internal democracy

The country is in mourning following the death of Speaker of Parliament Jacob Oulanyah. At a personal level, Oulanyah was well known to me. He was a humble and dignified individual whose way of leadership sought to change the trajectory of politics in the country that has for long been based on intrigue, hatred and revenge. He was such a humble individual and for the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party where he belonged, his passing is a big loss.

 During vetting for the Central Executive Committee elections early last year, Oulanyah, who sought the chairmanship of the ruling NRM party for Northern Uganda, approached me, saying he had been impressed by my courage and ambition to seek to represent the party as first national chairman and encouraged me to continue working hard for the development of the party. This was how Oulanyah had a golden heart. So, the party has lost a unifier, a mentor and leader.

It should not be forgotten that Oulanyah is a former member of the Uganda People’s Congress party but he converted to NRM, which welcomed him and later elected him as deputy speaker of Parliament. This shows the tolerance and inclusiveness of the ruling party. As long as one comes and espouses the pillars of NRM, they are welcome, and the party has the existing structures to support such individuals to blossom into strong leaders. It is a democratic culture that our national chairman, President Museveni, has instilled into the party and one that will continue to grow.

The same can be said of Oulanyah’s deputy, Ms Anita Among, who has now been chosen as his successor following a landslide victory on Friday. ‘Poached’ from the opposition Forum for Democratic Change, Ms Among has been doing a great job as deputy speaker, well representing the NRM party in Parliament, and ably stepping in the shoes of Oulanyah as he battled with sickness for all this long. I have no doubt that she is a great Speaker. All this shows how NRM grooms leaders at all levels in society and allows them freedom to exercise their leadership.

But as the country mourns the death of Oulanyah, this is the question that I would like to leave to the leadership of NRM to ponder: What next?

The ruling NRM party should be hailed for giving the deceased and his deputy, Ms Among, whom we call converts into the party, the chance to represent the NRM at such a big stage. For many party outsiders and analysts, this was rare; for people who are not old party members to be allowed to represent it in such a big arm of government as Parliament, which decides many policies of the country, is unheard of in many other political parties.

Whereas this is a good thing that reflects the party’s internal democracy, it is time for the party to reflect on this key unanswered question: Where does this leave the old, loyal party members who are groomed but are not given a chance to be leaders when the time is ripe?

The party leadership is much renowned for grooming young leaders capable of fitting in the shoes of the old leaders in future.  But for some time now, the party’s young Turks have grumbled over not being given a chance at leadership by the party’s old leaders. The matter was reflected during the party’s CEC elections last year where some young leaders were told to step aside to allow some of the old leaders to remain in leadership. Whereas this was seen as a party of attempts to attain a balance of both new and old leaders, it did not augur well among some of the party’s potential young leaders. It is the same principle that was viewed when the party chose new NRM converts to be speaker and deputy speaker, respectively.

The same disgruntlement was seen when the party was choosing Among and Thomas Tayebwa for speaker and deputy speaker of Parliament, respectively. Some of those who had presented themselves for election were not impressed when they were told to simply stand aside for the duo yet most of them expected the vetting to be based on their individual merits.

As NRM continues to mourn Oulanyah and welcome the speaker of Parliament, it is also time for the party to ponder on how to foster democracy in its leadership structures for future generations to come.

Mr Kefa Mafumo is presidential aide in charge of youth.