The Democratic Party (DP) has confirmed that their party member, Richard Lumu, the MP for Mityana South, will on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, hold a consultative meeting at the party headquarters with party leaders and members.
While speaking to the media at the DP office on Balintuma Road in Rubaga, Kampala, on September 10, 2024, the DP Party Spokesperson and President of the Uganda Young Democrats (UYD), Ismail Kirya, said that Lumu wrote officially to the party and asked to have a consultative meeting about his private member’s bill that he is yet to defend on the floor of parliament.
“Lumu has officially requested to have a meeting with DP leadership and party members, and he is to consult with party members and have our view as members and party leaders,” Kirya said.
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During DP’s last press conference held on September 3, 2024, the party denied any involvement with Lumu’s proposal, saying he had not consulted them and, as a party, they were distancing themselves from the proposal.
Fred Mwesigwa, the Press Secretary to the DP party president, Nobert Mao, said that Lumu, as a DP member, had a right to present a private members bill, and he officially requested to meet DP top leadership for consultation.
“Honourable Lumu is our Member as DP, and he has been consulting other colleagues and political parties. Yesterday he was at the Ministry of Finance to get the financial implications certificate of his intended bill. Today he is meeting Jeema Party members, and on September 11, 2024, he will meet DP leadership, the members, and well-wishers. The media are welcome to attend and listen to his views, and you can also give your views since he is consulting,” Mwesigwa said.
Lumu, while in Gulu during the first regional sitting at Kaunda grounds on Thursday, August 29, 2024, expressed his concerns, questioning why certain democratic principles apply to other leadership roles but not to the opposition’s key figures.
Read Also: DEMOCRATIC PARTY DISTANCES SELF FROM LUMU PROPOSED AMENDMENT BILL
From Lumu’s concern, the 11th parliament of Uganda granted leave to Lumu to present a private member’s bill, allowing all opposition MPs to participate in the election of their Leader of Opposition and Chief Opposition Whip.
Lumu’s proposal was met with many diverging views, as most opposition MPs maintained that the proposed bill was meant to weaken the opposition.
Other opposition parties like NUP, FDC, and UPC have already shown dissatisfaction with Lumu’s amendment bill proposal, and whether DP officially backs its party member or not will be known after the Wednesday, September 11, 2024, consultative meeting.
