The opposition Forum for Democratic Change party and the People’s Front for Transition-Katonga faction are embroiled in a bitter row over political supremacy.
Sources at the FDC party headquarters revealed that the fight is between the FDC team headed by Party President Patrick Amuriat and Nandala Mafabi against the PFT Katonga group headed by MP Anna Adeke and Harold Kaija with the backing of Col. (Rtd) Kizza Besigye.
According to a source, the Katonga group has accused the Najjanankumbi faction under Amurita of continuously receiving huge sums of cash from the NRM regime with the intention to completely and permanently wipe Dr. Besigye from politics.
Margret Okuri, a renowned Katonga group member, said the endless stalemate has put DR. Besigye in a political dilemma, and he has failed to select who to name as the next party president.
“We are faced with a serious challenge; some of us are still loyal to FDC headquarters, but now due to these accusations amongst our leaders, we are divided too, and Dr. Besigye has found it difficult to pick a suitable candidate for party presidency,” said Okuri.
According to Okuri, Nandala has expressed interest in the FDC party leadership, despite being accused of taking money from the NRM by the Katonga group in order to permanently end Besigye’s political career.
“Our team at Katonga now wants its own member fronted to defuse Nandala’s force, whom we know is state-sponsored and backed by Amuriat too,” said Okuri.
Okuri noted that FDC Party President Amuriat feels undermined, sidelined, and ignored by Dr. Besigye, whose continued interferences with the operation of the party have remained prominent.
Joan Alobo, the Soroti city woman MP, said the fight between Besigye and Amuriat has been ongoing since the 2021 elections, and as a result, Amuriat, as the party president, opted to groom Nandala as his possible successor.
“Some of the members of the FDC party are not happy with the way things have been running, so they came up with holding small workshops to try and streamline the party and its members,” Joseph Baliku, a strong FDC supporter, said.
Another source said both Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago and his deputy, Doreen Nyanjura, who are both in the party leadership, have also been sidelined and are never recognized due to the current split.
“Most of our members are now lost with no direction; our leaders are fighting and accusing each other left and right, with some key members leaving the party already,” said Alobo.
