The Chairperson of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Katonga faction, Ambassador Wasswa Birigwa, has said that they are not a faction, as alleged by their counterparts at the Najjanankumbi faction led by Patrick Amuriat, the party president.

According to Birigwa, the Katonga faction is a fraction of the FDC because they make up three-quarters of the party, which is the biggest part of the party.

“Katonga is not just a faction; we are the biggest fraction of the FDC because we make up three-quarters of the party, which makes us the legitimate FDC,” Birigwa said.

This follows an internal party election held on October 6, 2023, an action by the Najjanankumbi faction to replace leaders of the Katonga faction, such as Wassawa Birigwa, who was replaced by Jack Sabiiti as the party’s national chairman, and Ibrahim Semujju Nganda, who was replaced as the FDC party whip in Parliament by Yusuf Nsibambi.

However, Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, the interim president of the FDC Katonga faction,
since challenged the resolutions of the National Delegates Conference convened by Toterebuka Bamwenda, the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission at Najjanankumbi, reasoning that it was unconstitutionally organized.

Birigwa also wondered how Toterebuka could organize elections and swear in new leaders before their term ended.

He revealed that the leadership at Katonga is set to organize a free and fair election to fulfill what the Najjanankumbi faction failed to do under the guidelines of the party constitution.

“We are going to start elections at the grassroots and start doing what these people at
Najjanankumbi has not done,” Birigwa said.

It should be known that the FDC party has been fighting internally for a while until the wrangles escalated and were made public earlier this year as the two factions drifted apart.