Mao cautions DP members on association with People Power

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Democratic Party-DP President Norbert Mao has warned his party members against being overridden by the growing political excitement of the People Power pressure group into violating the principles of their party.

Mao was on Wednesday addressing a symposium of DP leaders from the greater Masaka sub region at Bwala Social Centre in Masaka municipality.

His pronouncement was prompted by the fistfights that erupted at the meeting as DP members clashed over allegiance to the People Power political formation led by Kyadondo East Member of Parliament Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, aka Bobi wine.

It all started after a section of youth dressed in green T-shirts labeled with words; “DP SECURITY TEAM” deployed at the main entrance of the venue and started blocking their counterparts with red berets from accessing the meeting place, accusing them of having intentions to cause chaos.

Amidst the bitter clashes between the contending factions, a number of them sustained injuries.

In his addresses after the situation had normalized the DP president Nobert Mao cautioned the members especially the youth against overly being taken up by the temporary wave a political pressure group he says is not premised on clear principals.

He urged DP members to support the pressure group with restraints and accept to be guided by the values of their mother party, if they wish to remain of relevancy in the politics of the country.

Mao also picked offence about some party members that have started belittling him of having a lesser political advantage compared to Robert Kyagulanyi in a political contest against president Museveni in the 2021 election.

He says such political conjectures may act against the much awaited negotiation towards having a joint opposition candidate against NRM, asking those fermenting them to stop it.

Despite Mao’s appeal to his members to tolerate each other, Muhammad Yiga, one of the local DP activists who sustained injuries in the fight went ahead and opened a police file against his aggressors arguing that they were hired to deliberately harm him and other People Power crusaders.

He blames the scuffle to the Party’s Vice President and Uganda’s representative to the East African Legislative Assembly – EALA Fred Mukasa Mbidde, whom he accuses of hiring people to torment anybody that doesn’t support his bid for Masaka municipality parliamentary seat against incumbent MP Mathias Mpuuga; who was appointed the regional people power coordinator.

Efforts to speak to Mbidde over the matter proved futile as he didn’t attend the meeting and didnot pick our calls.

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