A group of opposition Forum for Democratic Change members opposed to the leadership of Patrick Amuriat and Nandala Mafabi have said they are not going to allow the party to split into two but rather fight within to cause changes.
"Many have suggested that we split and fight a war. I want to assure you that there is not going to be any split. We are going to fight within FDC and save the party. There is no one going to split. These(Nandala group) are only a few of our members who can be deciding for everyone. We are the majority who want the party to be democratic and want elections conducted in a free and fair manner and want our party back," Kabale Municipality MP, Dr. Nicholas Kamara who is also an FDC NEC member said on Thursday.
Addressing journalists at Fairway Hotel in Kampala, a group of FDC NEC members insisted that they are ready to do whatever is in their means to reclaim the party from the hands of "the individual few" whom they said are bent on selling it to President Museveni.
Not a faction
Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago insisted that theirs is not a faction but rather members of the FDC National Executive Committee who are duly recognized by the constitution.
"We are not a faction but We are a wide spectrum of the FDC NEC. We constitute the National Executive Committee of the party. We would be seated at our party headquarters but they are under siege and taken over by goons," Lukwago said.
"We are seated here because our party headquarters were taken over by goons but otherwise, we would be there executing our business. If it is anything, it is Nandala and Amuriat who are running a faction. The executive is here and ready to execute business."
Lukwago said the FDC NEC to which members who addressed the Thursday press conference are part is supposed to have a retreat to iron out the challenges within the party but noted the meeting has been frustrated by party leaders including Nandala Mafabi and Patrick Amuriat.
"To date, the two or three individuals who have hijacked the management of our party are not allowing those processes to take place. We are not only stopping them by mere proclamations but we are to do everything possible to stop whatever is going on. This party is not a property of two or three individuals taking is as a briefcase party but rather has robust structures rolled out countrywide."
Describing it as an absurdity, Lukwago said it is unacceptable for a few individuals to begin calling the shots within the once strongest opposition party in the country.
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Kampala deputy Lord Mayor, Doreen Nyanjura said she is now putting the FDC president Patrick Amuriat and the Secretary General, Nandala Mafabi that most party members will not simply sit and the party crumbles under its own weight.
"I am going to do everything possible, use all means necessary to rally members of FDC to come out and defend their party. It seems Nandala has forgotten FDC members who can't be paid to support someone deployed by Museveni. The FDC members I know cant be beaten and silenced on gunpoint to start supporting Nandala and POA. The FDC members I know are not going to give up on democracy. The FDC members I know are not going to give up fighting for the party and cause change. We are not going to give up but use all measures necessary to ensure the dictators at Najjankumbi exit."
The development comes on the backdrop of a rift within the FDC caused mostly by Museveni money that has been said to have partly sponsored the candidacy of Patrick Amuriat in the 2021 presidential election.
These allegations have led to counter accusations and name calling by the two warring factions.
