Amuriat invites Besigye for FDC manifesto launch

Dr Kizza Besigye (pictured) is expected to grace the launch of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) manifesto in Hoima on Thursday, which will also pave way for him to join the party presidential candidate Patrick Amuriat on the campaign trail.

What you need to know:

  • Mr Patrick Oboi Amuriat said his manifesto comprises three pillars which are the transition, addressing post Covid-19 effects and socio-economic reforms.
  • Under transition, Mr Amuriat said a lot in this country has been distorted including the Constitution. He said in the second pillar of post-Covid-19 impact, he plans to give each Ugandan family Shs100,000 as Covid relief to improve their livelihood.
  • Under the social and economic reforms, Mr Amuriat said he would deliver better services to the population.

Dr Kizza Besigye is expected to grace the launch of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) manifesto in Hoima on Thursday, which will also pave way for him to join the party presidential candidate Patrick Amuriat on the campaign trail.
 Mr Amuriat was supposed to launch the FDC manifesto in Soroti on November 9, but postponed the function and shifted it to Hoima City. 

He reasoned that he could not launch the campaigns and the manifesto in one region.
When asked yesterday to confirm whether the four-time FDC presidential candidate would attend the Thursday launch, Mr Amuriat said he had just sent an invitation to Dr Besigye to witness the event and was waiting for a response. 
He said Dr Besigye is also expected to give a keynote address about his Plan B to defeat President Museveni and what it entails.

“I am yet to confirm from him on whether he will be around with us in Hoima. ...I have been telling the population his coming will boost our campaigns because he is well-known and he is my father in politics. So this will be another milestone for us,” Mr Amuriat said.
The sources also told Daily Monitor that Besigye might lead the FDC campaign team to western Uganda starting from Kigezi Sub-region at the weekend.
Efforts to reach Dr Besigye were futile as he did not answer our calls.

Mr Amuriat said Dr Besigye was initially supposed to be on the campaign trail but he first wanted assurance about his safety from Covid-19 while in the field.
“About his safety, we have made sure that we launch our campaign in an enclosed place so that we limit it to only invited people to reduce on the crowd. After the launch, we shall then address the public outside the enclosed area,” he said.

Mr Amuriat spent the whole of yesterday traversing districts of Madi-Okollo and Zombo amid heavy security deployment. Uncharacteristic of police who have arrested him and unleashed violence on his supporters at his previous campaign trail, this time around the police helped him pull his car out when it got stuck on the muddy road  in Madi-Okollo District yesterday.
Two security guards, FDC leaders and supporters failed to push the car until police intervened and used a belt to pull the vehicle from the pothole.
While in Madi-Okollo, Mr Amuriat said residents, who are living in poverty with poor infrastructure, should not vote the current government which has kept them in this deplorable condition for 35 years.

“This is one of the communities in Uganda that lives in impoverished houses, have no clean water for drinking and washing clothes. The roads are impassable because the money government releases is eaten by the officials and it does not reach the intended people. These are areas we should work together to bring changes in your communities,” Mr Amuriat said.