Dr. Col. Kizza Besigye’s alliance with the National Unity Platform (NUP) has created more divisions and uncertainties for Ibrahim Ssemjju Nganda, Member of Parliament Kira Municipality, Erias Lukwago Kampala City Lord Mayor, and other leaders. The leaders, especially those from Luwengo and Hoima, who have recently returned to FDC Najjjanakumbi faction.
According to sources, the divisions and disagreements in opposition parties, NUP, FDC Katonga, and FDC Najjanakumbi, are far from over. They state that, during the opening of NUP party headquarters, only Besigye was recognised as a guest speaker, leaving out Lukwago, yet in his capacity as city mayor, they should have accorded him the respect and courtesy he deserves.
“Bobi Wine only invited Besigye to the opening; however, he gave a condition for attending, that other notable leaders at Katonga are invited to accompany him; that is how Lukwago and Ssemujju ended up with invitations, but Ssemujju shunned the invitation and did not attend because his Kira seat is under threat by two NUP hopefuls,” stated the source.
Lukwago, who harbours presidential ambitions, was sidelined by NUP leadership at the unveiling of their offices, which did not go down well with him, leaving him hanging in balance. With some of the Katonga FDC district members returning to the mother FDC, Lukwago is torn between Besigye’s Katonga and NUP coalition and returning to FDC Najjannakumbi or returning to DP.
According to reliable sources, Ssemujju has expressed his disagreement with the Katonga-NUP alliance. Ssemujju is sceptical about receiving support from NUP in his bid against Fred Nyanzi, the NUP leader’s brother, for the NUP party ticket in the upcoming 2026 elections for Kira municipality.
“The only way Ssemujju can save his seat is by coming back to FDC Najjanakumbi. Yusuf Nsibambi, Chief Whip of FDC in Parliament, has been trying to woo him back to the party; however, Nandala Mafabi set conditions for Ssemujju if he wants to return to FDC Najjanakumbi,” added the sources.
According to Nandala Mafabi, Ssemujju has to offer a written apology and publicly apologise for accusing him of taking money from NRM, denounce any further dealings with NUP and Besigye’s Katonga, and contribute a reasonable amount of money to the party for mobilisation activities.
FDC Najjanakumbi party President Patrick Oboi Amuriat, taking advantage of the current uncertainty, approached Prince Kassim Nakibenge to mediate between his team, Lukwago and Ssemujju; however, sources revealed that there is bad blood between Prince Nakibenge that does not allow him to see eye to eye with Lukwago.
This website has learned that many supporters of the Katonga faction are uncertain of their political careers and have been begging and lobbying to be accommodated back at Najjanakumbi. The sources state that because they need party tickets, Najjanankumbi is less competitive than NUP, which has its preferred candidates already. They also stated that the leaders harbour concerns that the financial resources of the Katonga faction are insufficient to provide them with the necessary support.
Sources also reveal that Nandala and Amuriat have been trying to appease National Executive Committee (NEC) members who had missed out on party posts by trying to create for them some posts and also giving some money to leave their posts for their colleagues and also wooing members from the Katonga group.
The FDC Katonga faction finds itself embroiled in a series of scandals, with one of the most prominent being the internal division among its members regarding the potential candidature of Winnie Byanyima, Besigye’s wife, for party presidency.
