Retired Dr. Colonel Kizza Besigye, four-time presidential candidate and founder of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), received UGX 3.8 billion from foreign funders to form a political party parallel to the FDC Katonga faction, but he has failed to do so, and his investors are pressuring him to account for the funds, which are believed to have been spent.
The party will be run by his wife Winnie Byanyima, who declared her interest in contesting as a presidential candidate come the 2026 general elections.
According to sources close to the FDC Katonga faction, Besigye had hoped to ally with the National Unity Platform (NUP) party in preparation for the wife’s takeover, with the funds sourced from the gay community abroad. However, Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, the leader of the NUP, was warned of Besigye’s plans and intentions.
“A person working closely with Besigye and also a close confidant of Bobi Wine revealed Besigye’s plans to Bobi Wine and warned him against the alliance, saying that Besigye was using him to create room for his wife Winnie,” said the source.
With that information, the sources shared that Bobi Wine started shunning the alliance and distancing himself from Besigye, which forced Besigye to rethink his plans and opt for forming a new party.
Besigye hit a snug with Bobi Wine’s NUP and was forced to rethink his strategies since his earlier plans with NUP proved more difficult to attain.
According to sources, since FDC Katonga does not have numbers and is not a registered party, following its fallout with the FDC Najjanakumbi faction, which holds the party’s constitution and party stamp, Besigye’s next option was to buy another party.
“Besigye is in a tight corner, with so many challenges; the donors are demanding accountability; the FDC Katonga numbers are appalling; they are not enough to form a party; his other option is to buy an already existing party, which he has tasked the interim President Erias Lukwago and Harold Kaija, the secretary general, to handle,” the source added.
Patrick Wakida, a political analyst, has weighed in on Besigye’s current dilemma, claiming that if he chose to form a new party, it might take him up to 2026 to complete, and should he buy an existing party, he has to prove himself worth trusting since he seems to be suffering due to people losing trust in him as a leader and an alliance.
According to Wakida, the country has seen the end of Besigye’s political career, stating that he has nothing to write about politically.
“If he is struggling with aligning people like NUP, that is the first waning. He can try to camouflage behind the wife and buy a new party for her, but his end is inevitable,” he said.
With the donors on his neck, the NUP rejection, and running out of time to register a new political party, Besigye has been pushed to the wall and is desperate to find accountability for the Ugx 3.8 billion.
