As the ballot pressure and tension attacks Uganda’s leading opposition party the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) the issue of differentiating men form boys still tops the agenda.
Following the successful nomination for the party’s top most position held from 14th – 17th August, the battle and heat to hunt for votes across the country has already started stretching the candidate’s muscles.
Though its slightly true that in every election, it’s always not easy to defeat an encampment leader, some FDC members have already started lamenting about President Gen. Mugisha Gregory Muntu’ s posh approach.
As some of the rival camps continue negotiating with their friends about hiring cars and soliciting money to facilitate the hotly contested country wide election, Gen. Muntu has silenced them with branding most of posh rides and slashing dime to his camp.
When we contacted our Insider in Muntu camp, revealed that how the former Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) commander started preparation for the race about two years back.
This move has not only predicted victory for the party members but it has also become a genesis of backbites as some rivals allege that they doubt the source of his finances.
Muntu suspicion
Last week while appearing on the NBS Television Frontline, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Secretary General, Hon. Nathan Nandala Mafabi articulated an issue related to commercialization of the party election.
Mafabi said there some leaders in the party who never contribute a lot of money when the party looking for ways of raising some funds but to his surprise its only when time for party election jet in that people spend millions of money.
In the same plea, the Budadiri legislator vowed to investigate the source of such money since it’s not only bad for the party but for the country too.
Mafabi also said will thwart any attempts to skew party presidential elections in favour of any of the candidates in the race.
Mugisha Muntu, who defeated Nandala in the 2012 elections, is the race to retain the top seat of Uganda’s biggest opposition party. He faces competition from four other candidates who include former Kumi County Member of Parliament Patrick Oboi Amuriat, Kawempe South MP Mubarak Munyagwa, FDC Youth wing chief mobiliser Moses Byamugisha and Dan Matsiko Malcom, a businessman-cum-politician.
Though many within the FDC and out anticipated that Nandala would challenge Muntu as he did in 2012 but he never picked nomination forms as he claims that will play a critical role in the coming elections.
For instance, he claims that there will be no rigging this time as it happened in 2012. Nandala, who in 2012 claimed the elections were neither free nor fair, says he will ensure that no dead voter appears in the register and all people supposed to vote will be registered. Over 1,300 delegates will cast votes on November 17th to elect the party president.
