When the Buganda Road Court dismissed a case of impersonation against Wasswa Birigwa on August 13th, it was celebrated by the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Katonga faction in a big way.
The case challenged Wasswa Birigwa’s authority to call the party’s national delegates’ conference, as he was not the substantive chairman of the party anymore.
“They accused me of impersonation, claiming I was not the FDC chairman,” Birigwa said. “But the court has ruled that out. I am the chairperson of the FDC party.”
The party has seen internal confrontations and accusations since 2023 over what was said to be money from Museveni that funded the 2021 FDC campaigns, and continuous operations.
All major opposition parties, apart from the newest National Unity Platform (NUP) are divided in the middle over leadership wrangles and other issues.
In 2010, the Democratic Party (DP) was the first to fracture, when Nobert Mao, now Justice Minister declared his intention to lead it into the 2011 general elections.
The leadership of the day favoured Nasser Ntege Ssebagala and dismissed Mao as a spy.
When he won, majority of the party activists including Erias Lukwago, Betty Nambooze and Mathias Mpuuga broke away to form the Suubi Taskforce that they used as a vehicle in the 2011 election.
In 2015, Milton Obote’s son Jimmy Akena fought with the then party president Olara Otunnu for the reigns of the Uganda People’s Congress (UPC).
The party was split, with Otunnu’s wing taking a bow from the political scene, perhaps for good, but the party’s leadership wrangles have never dissipated.
In both instances above, the parties have fought for leadership while keeping their parties intact.
However, this paper understands that with the recent court ruling, the FDC Katonga faction wishes to use the Saturday conference to dissolve the party, and form a new one.
This will be a new trick in the politics of the country.
Speaking to The Observer newspaper a week ago, the faction’s spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda asserted that the group cannot continue operating as the FDC.
“However, we cannot proceed with forming the new party while we are still operating as the FDC.” Adding;
“The FDC remains an active organization, making formal decisions through its established organs. This could very well be the last time we identify ourselves as FDC and convene as an FDC organ.”
Chapter 7 of the FDC constitution states the Party Chairman’s number one duty as to convene and chair the party’s national delegates’ conference.
In chapter 10 of the same, the national delegates conference may dissolve the party by a majority of two-thirds present.
