Uganda: 'It Was a Fake Election' - Katonga FDC Faction Scoffs at Najjanankumbi's New Top Leadership

10 October 2023
Nile Post (Kampala)
By Kenneth Kazibwe

The Forum for Democratic Change faction that sits at Katonga road in Kampala has branded as fake, the elections in which their counterparts at Najjanankumbi elected new delegates last week.

"It was a fake and sham election. It was convened outside the FDC party constitution. The constitution in articles 23 and 28 states that the FDC National Executive Committee (NEC) shall be elected by the national delegates conference convened and chaired by the party chairman or chairperson. The FDC chairperson, Amb. Wasswa Birigwa is here with us and didn't convene and chair the Nandala and Amuriat meeting," Katonga FDC faction, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda told journalists on Tuesday.

"That meeting, the first of its kind in the 18 years of the history of FDC was illegal under the party constitution. This illegality is what we brought to the attention of High Court in the September 29 civil suit. This case challenging the illegality of October 6, 2023 Toterebuka Bamwenda meeting has not been heard."

The Najjanankumbi FDC faction on Friday, October, 6 held a delegates' conference at Patidar Samaj Sports Ground Lugogo in Kampala elected at least 51 members of the National Executive Committee.

Among those elected was Patrick Amuriat as the president, Nandala Mafabi as Secretary General, John Kikonyogo as the new party spokesperson to replace Ssemujju Nganda and Jack Sabiiti as the national party chairperson to replace Amb. Wasswa Birigwa among others.

Speaking on Tuesday, the Katonga faction insisted that all that happened during the delegates conference at Patidar Samaj Sports Ground in Lugogo can only be equated to a meeting organized by Nandala Mafabi and Patrick Amuriat whose outcomes they said are not binding.

"What Nandala and Amuriat have done is to make their followers blindly believe that the illegality of their October, 6 meeting has been certified by court. We want to tell them court process has just begun and might be longer than they think," Ssemujju Nganda said.

The interim president for the Katonga faction and Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago said the interim leadership was appointed to power to serve for a period of six months until March ,2024 when a delegates conference will be held to get new NEC members.

He insisted that until this delegates conference is held and new leaders appointed, anything else is sham and a waste of time.

"Our FDC members should not waiver to the choreographed propaganda going around that court cleared Nandala and Amuriat delegates conference. It is a misconstruction of the ruling made by Justice Musa Ssekaana. He didn't pronounce himself on the legality of the October,6 delegates conference. Court didn't clear the delegates conference. The case is still before court and has not been settled. It is still pending hearing," Lukwago said.

The FDC national chairperson, Wasswa Birigwa and 27 others on Wednesday ran to the High Court seeking orders to block the Najjanankumbi delegates conference that they said would see them lose their positions in the party

They asked court to issue a temporary injunction halting today's delegates conference but also conducting of elections for members of the FDC National Executive Committee at the same conference until the main suit is disposed of.

However, Justice Musa Ssekaana said the application by Birigwa and 27 others has no merit and consequently dismissed it.

Speaking on Tuesday, Lukwago said the ruling by Justice Ssekaana only refrained from granting temporary reliefs but not pronouncing in finality on the legality of the said meeting.

"I want Nandala group to cite any line within that ruling that said their meeting was lawful and is called a delegates conference. By the mere fact that the judge refrained from granting the temporary relief on flimsy grounds that we came late and termed it bad faith, it doesn't legalise the meeting. He simply declined to stop it but didn't say it is lawful."

"That meeting they held was not a lawful exercise. It was not a duly convened national delegates conference of the party. It is an insult to members of FDC to call that meeting a delegates conference. For a delegates conference to sit, the national chairman has to convene it which was not the case. It is not known within the FDC party constitution."

Lukwago told FDC members that a delegates conference will only be held in March to elect new National Executive Committee members.

"The program we rolled out as the interim leadership is still on and has not been set aside."

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