The ongoing political fights between Katonga and Najjanankumbi FDC factions have left many Ugandans wondering why chaos starts in whatever party Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago joins.
Recently, the Katonga faction chose him as the interim party president in an extraordinary delegates conference, though the Najjanankumbi leaders later held an official delegates conference on October 6, which saw Patrick Amuriat and Nandala Mafabi re-elected to maintain their positions of party president and secretary general, respectively.
Since the National Unity Platform (NUP) took control of and dominated the central region in the 2021 elections, FDC has gradually lost popularity. The Central Region had been the centre of opposition in Uganda and was controlled by the FDC before NUP came in, but Lukwago was in the DP then. This saw the number of FDC members of parliament reduce to 32 in the 11th parliament from over 60 in the 10th parliament.
While in the Democratic Party (DP), Lukwago had endless fights with party leaders, including DP party president Norbert Mao, which led to the fracturing of the party.
The Katonga group has been accusing Nandala and Amuriat of receiving money from President Museveni and planning to sell FDC to him, but no evidence has been presented. The Najjanankumbi team also accuses Lukwago, Ssemujju, and Kizza Besigye of trying to sell the party to NUP for personal gain.
For any reason, an alliance with these opposition political parties would be good for strength and electioneering maneuvers, given that politics is about numbers, but the question remains: What numbers will Lukwago or Ssemujju bring to FDC or NUP?
FDC is in a critical situation; even Kizza Besigye’s Rukungiri District, which used to have all members of Parliament be FDC, currently has one Member of Parliament who is FDC and the rest are NRM. The remaining FDC strongholds are Kasese, the Eastern Region, and West Nile, where Nandala and Amuriat come from. This would then show that FDC needs the Najjanankumbi team more than they need Lukwago and Ssemujju.
Lukwago and Ssemujju have nothing to add to FDC in terms of numbers because the areas they represent are already in the hands of NUP, and it will be hard for FDC to reclaim them. Even if they were to form an alliance with NUP, what do Lukwago and Ssemujju put on the table in terms of numbers since NUP already controls their territories?
The two have been winning as individuals but adding nothing to the FDC party apart from selfish interests to remain politically relevant, which has kept them in internal political fights, hence leading to the downfall of FDC.
It was highly expected that if they went to FDC, their intentions would be just to look for leadership positions, and so they would automatically export chaos and fight everybody trying to take control. Chances are high that the current Najjanankumbi FDC leadership will not give them a chance given their chaotic background wherever they have been and, of course, having nothing to offer in terms of numbers.
