Nabwiso appeals to Besigye ‘not to divide FDC’

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  Former Kagoma Member of Parliament, Dr. Frank Nabwiso has appealed to Dr. Besigye, to desist from actions that will destroy the party he worked so hard to build.

Dr. Besigye has been in the limelight accusing the Party’s Secretary General, Nandala Mafabi, and the current FDC President, Patrick Amuriat of having received money from the ruling NRM.

The money saga threatens divisions in the once-largest opposition party into factions. So far there appear to be members aligned to the Najjanakumbi faction headed by Nathan Nandala Mafabi and Patrick Oboi  Amuriat and the Katonga faction under Dr. Kiiza Besigye with the likes of Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago and a number of MPS like Ibrahim Ssemujju Ibrahim Nganda among others.

Dr. Nabwiso, who headed a six-member committee selected to investigate the origin of the three hundred million shillings that Dr. Besigye said he received from Nandala Mafabi addressed a press conference at the Party’s headquarters on Wednesday.

The press came after Dr. Besigye and others rejected the Dr. Nabwsio or Elders’ Reconciliation Committee report about the money which the Katonga faction of continues to describe as dirty “money”

Nabwiso flanked by other members of the Elder’s Reconciliation Committee asked Dr. Besigye not to undermine his own legacy.   “We want to appeal to him on our bended knees that he doesn’t do that,” said Nabwiso.

The Nabwiso said that Nandala Mafabi explained to his committee that FDC’s National Executive Committee-NEC had approved a proposal granting the party leadership to seek a loan that would finance the 2021 elections.

Nabwiso and his committee did not however mention whether they investigated the source or lender or how much money was borrowed and under what terms and conditions.

He said that Nandala withdrew the money from his Stanbic Bank account.

The Nabwiso-led committee was satisfied with Nandala’s response and investigated no further.

Dr. Besigye on Monday rubbished the Nabwiso committee’s findings about the source of the money. Nandala Mafabi. Besigye’s stand seemed to have angered Nabwiso and others on the committee.

Besigye said that the committee report was not worth the paper it had been written.

He said the committee was conflicted from the first point having been appointed by the party president who himself was part of the recipients of the money in question.

Besigye also said that one of the committee members resigned citing reasons such as the committee secretary appointed by Nandala Mafabi was not documenting proceedings of the committee meetings rightly.

Besigye also said that before the report was issued, Nabwiso met with Nandala and Amuriat at a location in Iganga district hence denting his neutrality in the matter.

Nabwiso however downplayed Dr. Besigye’s view about the report saying that even reports by big bodies such as the World Bank are refuted.

Regarding their appointment, he said that Amuriat was not a subject of investigation and hence couldn’t have had a conflict of interest when making the appointments.

As for the member who resigned, Nabwiso said he didn’t inform the committee of his resignation and the reasons for that.

He said Twesigye Katembeya attended the committee meetings and participated in writing the first draft of the report but they were surprised to hear that he had resigned.

Regarding his meeting with Nandala and Amuriat, Nabwiso denied that the meeting was about the investigations.

He explained that the meeting concerned the poverty situation in Busoga and not in any way about the investigations.

Amidst the quarrels in FDC, the party had planned to hold its internal elections.

Some party members including the party Deputy President in charge of Buganda Erias Lukwago, the party spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, and the Deputy Secretary General Harold Kaija among others demanded that the elections be halted until the challenges are resolved and the Electoral Commission is better organized.

However, Nandala and Amuriat insisted on the elections arguing that they can not violate the party’s constitutional requirement.

Although the elections are highly opposed, it’s proponents say on 21 July, the party conducted them starting with the villages across Uganda.

During the special National Council sitting at Najjanankumbi on 28th July, it was resolved that in the areas where the elections were held, the process counts and that residual elections would be conducted in the others.

The party Deputy Spokesperson John Kikonyogo said that the party position still stands and urged other members of the party to partake in the elections.

He said that those who are aggrieved by any members especially leaders in the party have an opportunity to oust them from power if they participate in the elections or kill them if that’s an option.

The FDC until the 2021 general election was the leading opposition political party in Uganda as it had the most elected members in parliament.

In the past, similar conflicts have led to the split of the party leading to the creation of the Alliance for National Transformation led by Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu, the former FDC party President.

It is not yet known how the current conflict is going to be brought to its head but all signs show that the party might be headed to another split.

Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the MP for Kira municipality who is also the party spokesperson was sacked as the FDC whip in parliament.

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