The leadership scuffle within the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party has taken a turn for the worse as personal animosity between two key figures, MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the Spokesperson of the party and Nathan Nandala Mafabi, the Secretary General intensifies.

Ssemujju and Mafabi have been at odds for quite some time over various issues. Their differences were initially seen as ideological and strategic disagreements within the party, but it now appears that personal wrangles are at the core of their conflict.

According to sources within FDC, apparently, Ssemujju and his group have prepared to hold a meeting and press conference at Nsambya Sharing Hall on Monday, July 17, 2023, with an aim of declaring their interest for the position of Secretary General.

Preliminary information within the FDC party indicates that, the meeting by MP Ssemujju is to as well ensure that they add their voice to that of Mbarara District chairman, Stanley B. Katembeya who resigned from the powerful Special Elders/reconciliation committee. However, the Mafabi team is in panic and as a result the Secretary General responded with a letter for the meeting to be cancelled.

A letter dated July 14, 2023, and signed by Mafabi as the Secretary General has informed all District Chairpersons and party members that there is no meeting organized by the party.

“This is to clarify that the party has not called for any consultative meeting on Monday 17th July 2023 at Nsambya Sharing Hall,” the letter read in part.

In the same letter which Mafabi addressed to all District Chairpersons and General Secretaries, he informed them that the only official activity supposed to be held on Monday is the election of Village and Parish structures across the country.

“The official activity of the party on Monday 17th July 2023 is election of Village and Parish structures across the country,” Mafabi stressed.

He therefore, called upon all the party Chairpersons to adhere and cooperate with the District Election Supervisors for a smooth running of the activity.

“Therefore this is to request/clarify all chairpersons, to cooperate with the District election supervisors to ensure smooth running of the exercise,” Mafabi said.

The leadership scuffles within the FDC party stretch from financial mismanagement accusations, struggle for political positions to personal wrangles.

Recently some members of the party petitioned the National Council (NC) of the party seeking to change the leadership right from the Electoral Commission members, the party President to the Secretary General, who they accuse of acting unprofessional, lack of impartiality, lack of integrity and misusing party funds.

The petitioners accused the Party President, Engineer Patrick Amuriat Oboi and the Secretary General, MP Nathan Nandala Mafabi of using party funds before budget approval, causing financial liability to the party by accumulating arrears of 50% due to districts that they failed to remit, failing as members of NC to implement the Council’s resolution to remit 50% of all incomes into the party to districts, thereby causing a decline in the party performance country wide, lack of transparency in the management and audit of party funds, and declining to issue party cards to members and new recruits, thus impeding party membership growth.

The petitioners also accused the FDC Acting-Chief Electoral Commissioner, Boniface Toterebuka Bamwenda of badmouthing the founding party President Rtd Col Dr. Kizza Besigye Kifefe and referring to them as Katoga group, conducting unfair elections, calling district leaders and soliciting funds for some candidates, carrying out illegalities during the electoral process, running the processes of the party structure formation without approved budgets, thereby leaving individuals to compromise the process, and imposing unauthorized nomination fees to positions of voluntary leadership.

Information has it that much as Dr. Kizza Besigye left and formed his own pressure group-the Red Card Front, he still has an upper hand in the leadership affairs of the party, which some party members have considered as interfering with the party issues.

Sources have also disclosed that, Besigye is currently fronting Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago for FDC party President and MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda for Secretary General, while Amuriat is fronting Nathan Nandala Mafabi for party President. The two groups have since failed to reach an agreement.

The FDC party has been struggling with internal power struggles for years, resulting in the resignation of several key members, including the most recent one of Stanley B. Katembeya. These internal squabbles have weakened the party’s ability to effectively challenge President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.

Referring to the letter dated July 13, 2023, Stanley B. Katembeya resigned from being the Vice Chairperson of the Special Elders Committee which was appointed by Eng. Amuriat, with an aim of resolving the party conflicts. Among the various reasons Katembeya highlighted, is the interference of the party President and the Secretary General, and undermining the mediation work of the committee.

In his resignation, Katembeya also raised the conduct of Paulina, the committee’s Secretary who was seconded to them by Secretary General, for repeatedly recording and reading views not captured from the meeting, an attitude Katembeya said she adamantly stuck to.

The scramble and partition for power within the FDC party has unleashed more rot than what is seen and known to the public eyes. The split between top party leadership has for long been there, though silent in the ears of Ugandans, which infights saw some leaders leave the party and form theirs or join other political parties. For instance, General Mugisha Muntu left and formed his own political party (Alliance for National Transformation-ANT) in March 2019, while Paul Mwiru has since moved from FDC to ANT and currently to NUP.