Even though, the divisive Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party presidential elections happened over four years ago, the cracks left behind still remain glaringly visible to this day.
The fierce contest saw former party president Gen Gregory Mugisha Muntu face off against Dr kizza Besigye backed Engineer Patrick Amuriat.
Muntu was defeated amid protest from his camp citing foul play. The former Army Commander would later embark on a nationwide consultation drive before resultantly opting out and forming his party- Alliance for National Transformation (ANT).
With him, Muntu went with several notable defectors, many of whom were leaders in the party. These among others included former FDC Secretary General Alice Alaso, Former Leader of Opposition Winnie Kiiza, MPs such as Paul Mwiru, Kasiano Wadri and many more leaders at the different levels.
Besides those who defected with Muntu, some of his sympathisers opted to remain within the party for a motive that has remained debatable up to now. These include Robert Centenary, Ogenga Latigo among others. Others like Bugweri’s Abdul Katuntu and Aruu County’s Odonga Otto who chose neither to remain in FDC nor go with Muntu have since been hinging closer to the ruling National Resistance Movement.
The declaration by the party spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda that he wants the Speakership of the eleventh parliament has once again exposed the fault lines in FDC left by the Muntu- Poa rivalry.
So far, quite a number of party MPs have, in complete disregard of the party’s principals openly declared Rebecca Kadaga as their choice ahead of the Opposition Chief Whip.
At the launch of Kadaga’s reelection bid last month, several FDC MPs, led by Francis Mwijukye were surprisingly in attendance and ultimately spoke out on why the woman from Kamuli was their choice.
As the public was eagerly waiting for a possible party disciplinary action against the defiant members, Party president Amuriat recently came out to inform that the election of the speaker is a matter of national importance that the party would not dictate for its members.
Amuriat further suggested that despite Ssemujju conducting himself like the official choice of the party, such a decision has yet been made.
During a press briefing at the party Headquarters at Najjanankumbi on Monday however, the party leadership trashed the allegations as baseless. They however said that the party’s National Executive Committee(NEC) had been summoned for later this week to deliberate on the matter.
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