FDC stand angers NRM spin doctors
Aug 09, 2006
The Basamia people have a proverb that says okenda kaala yola eyale (one who walks slowly on a long journey reaches far). After FDC was founded on August 17, 2004 at Bonita off Entebbe Road, NRM leaders dismissed the new party as a Kampala bubble that would burst and disappear sooner than later. Pre
By Wafula Oguttu
The Basamia people have a proverb that says okenda kaala yola eyale (one who walks slowly on a long journey reaches far). After FDC was founded on August 17, 2004 at Bonita off Entebbe Road, NRM leaders dismissed the new party as a Kampala bubble that would burst and disappear sooner than later. President Museveni then advised Ugandans not to bother themselves with a party of traitors and non-performers driven by greed for power.
Throughout the two years of its existence, FDC has faced and gone through state-engineered problems after problems. But it has always come out stronger. What was seen as a Kampala affair is now a force to reckon with in every village. We therefore sympathise with the likes of Ofwono Opondo, the NRM spokesperson, when they write that FDC members are “All dressed but with no where to go†or “The gods have parted company with FDCâ€.
FDC having nowhere to go? Surely, Ofwono should by now know that FDC dressed up nicely some time ago, went passed his residence in Mukono and travelled all the way to his Mulanda village in Tororo and planted itself there as well. As for the gods parting company with FDC, let Ofwono ask Hon Janet Museveni as to which party badly needs prayers to continue on its journey. It is not FDC she recently asked the country through Parliament to intensify prayers for.
It is common knowledge that Ofwono has been an ISO operative for a long time, right from when he was a lecturer in Kyakwanzi political school and there is no problem with that. The problem is that the Ofwonos are using their privileged positions as intelligence operatives to fight wars for the ruling party — NRM.
Ofwono’s present ISO assignment is to steal and/or manufacture FDC documents for the purpose of undermining and weakening FDC.
This is a proof of a big problem we have repeatedly pointed out: fusing of the state, government and the ruling party —thereby misusing public resources for one political party against other parties.
We have, for example, a list of registration numbers of many security vehicles including bodabodas that constantly trail FDC leaders as if they were enemies of Uganda. FDC is not engaged in any activities that would endanger the state of Uganda in any way. Those who are harassing us all know it. But they need a window to get public funds through fake security operations against their main “enemy†today — FDC.
Instead of concentrating their efforts on building NRM into a strong organisation, they waste their time and public resources trying to weaken FDC. They are not capable of appreciating the fact that for the good of this country, our people need strong parties, not weak ones
On August 4 in his New Vision column Ofwono once again wrote distorted information based on stolen NEC minutes in a failed bid to prove existence of imaginary factions within FDC. FDC is a democratic party and every member is free to express their individual opinions on any issue in our meetings. We are not unfortunate like a a certain party where one person thinks and talks for everyone! Different ideas or opinions in our internal debates, even disagreements, do not mean factionalism.
In the column, Ofwono alleges that from FDC minutes, the party “had anticipated President Museveni to appoint some of its leaders into government “so they instructed their Secretary General Alice Alaso to draft guidelines to be followed in accepting such appointmentsâ€. This is a white lie and a poor attempt at spinning. He knows that the guidelines were to assist the party in handling those members who might also fall for Museveni tricks and decide to take the Kategaya route.
Ofwono also wrote about the FDC “rebuff to attend an opposition meeting with President Yoweri Museveni.â€
Senior Media Adviser to the President, John Nagenda, in his New Vision column of August 5, 2006 also wrote about the same meeting, saying the FDC leaders “missed the bus†and it is “goneâ€, hopefully forever. Why should Nagenda care at all when FDC leaders miss the bus to heaven where “warmer friendships†were waiting for them and when they were left to “swallow the dust†caused by the fast speeding bus?
Why are all these Museveni’s spin doctors bothered so much by FDC rebuff, to use Ofwono’s word, to go to the meeting when their boss, the host himself, said that by not going, Dr. Kizza Besigye had saved “my tea†and that he did not even notice that FDC was not at the meeting? We gave Ugandans very clear reasons for our decision not to attend the July 28 meeting at State House.
We wanted a well prepared engagement whose output would be seen, and seen to be in the interest of all Ugandans, not just exchanging pleasantries for the benefit of the President.
Ofwono said in his column, “But we are now nevertheless glad FDC spokesman Wafula Oguttu has said they will be participating in the interim inter-party committee to be chaired by the NRM Secretary General Amama Mbabazi.â€
No. We did not say that. We had no information and we still have no information about the meeting. So we could not have accepted to participate in something we did not know anything about.
We said we would participate if we agreed with what had been discussed. That meant we would consider our participation or non-participation after receiving the minutes of the July 28 meeting and a formal communication spelling out the nature of the inter-party committee and its terms of reference.
But if the so-called Amama Mbabazi committee is going to be like the Crispus Kiyonga inter-party committee of 2003 which just wasted public resources and time for those involved, then FDC should not be expected to participate in its deliberations at all.
It is not clear to us as to what were the President’s objectives when he called the July 28 meeting at State House. Did he just want to meet the so-called former presidential candidates and according to Nagenda, “in a friendly spirit chat about our country and its future†and “thank them for participating in the race†according to Media Centre boss Robert Kabushenga? Or did he want to set in motion the process of national reconciliation which to us in FDC should culminate into setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission? Or did he want to start the process of operationalising the Constitutional provision that provides for setting up a National Inter-Party Forum? Or was he merely responding to CHOGM pressures?
The issues of a National Inter-Party Forum and the Inter-Party Code of Conduct are provided for in the Constitution as amended in 2005. It is a matter supposed to be handled by Parliament and the Electoral Commission, NOT State House or President’s Office.
FDC leaders will not participate in meetings whose objectives are not clear to them even if such meetings are called by the Head of State.
The Basamia people have a proverb that says okenda kaala yola eyale (one who walks slowly on a long journey reaches far). After FDC was founded on August 17, 2004 at Bonita off Entebbe Road, NRM leaders dismissed the new party as a Kampala bubble that would burst and disappear sooner than later. President Museveni then advised Ugandans not to bother themselves with a party of traitors and non-performers driven by greed for power.
Throughout the two years of its existence, FDC has faced and gone through state-engineered problems after problems. But it has always come out stronger. What was seen as a Kampala affair is now a force to reckon with in every village. We therefore sympathise with the likes of Ofwono Opondo, the NRM spokesperson, when they write that FDC members are “All dressed but with no where to go†or “The gods have parted company with FDCâ€.
FDC having nowhere to go? Surely, Ofwono should by now know that FDC dressed up nicely some time ago, went passed his residence in Mukono and travelled all the way to his Mulanda village in Tororo and planted itself there as well. As for the gods parting company with FDC, let Ofwono ask Hon Janet Museveni as to which party badly needs prayers to continue on its journey. It is not FDC she recently asked the country through Parliament to intensify prayers for.
It is common knowledge that Ofwono has been an ISO operative for a long time, right from when he was a lecturer in Kyakwanzi political school and there is no problem with that. The problem is that the Ofwonos are using their privileged positions as intelligence operatives to fight wars for the ruling party — NRM.
Ofwono’s present ISO assignment is to steal and/or manufacture FDC documents for the purpose of undermining and weakening FDC.
This is a proof of a big problem we have repeatedly pointed out: fusing of the state, government and the ruling party —thereby misusing public resources for one political party against other parties.
We have, for example, a list of registration numbers of many security vehicles including bodabodas that constantly trail FDC leaders as if they were enemies of Uganda. FDC is not engaged in any activities that would endanger the state of Uganda in any way. Those who are harassing us all know it. But they need a window to get public funds through fake security operations against their main “enemy†today — FDC.
Instead of concentrating their efforts on building NRM into a strong organisation, they waste their time and public resources trying to weaken FDC. They are not capable of appreciating the fact that for the good of this country, our people need strong parties, not weak ones
On August 4 in his New Vision column Ofwono once again wrote distorted information based on stolen NEC minutes in a failed bid to prove existence of imaginary factions within FDC. FDC is a democratic party and every member is free to express their individual opinions on any issue in our meetings. We are not unfortunate like a a certain party where one person thinks and talks for everyone! Different ideas or opinions in our internal debates, even disagreements, do not mean factionalism.
In the column, Ofwono alleges that from FDC minutes, the party “had anticipated President Museveni to appoint some of its leaders into government “so they instructed their Secretary General Alice Alaso to draft guidelines to be followed in accepting such appointmentsâ€. This is a white lie and a poor attempt at spinning. He knows that the guidelines were to assist the party in handling those members who might also fall for Museveni tricks and decide to take the Kategaya route.
Ofwono also wrote about the FDC “rebuff to attend an opposition meeting with President Yoweri Museveni.â€
Senior Media Adviser to the President, John Nagenda, in his New Vision column of August 5, 2006 also wrote about the same meeting, saying the FDC leaders “missed the bus†and it is “goneâ€, hopefully forever. Why should Nagenda care at all when FDC leaders miss the bus to heaven where “warmer friendships†were waiting for them and when they were left to “swallow the dust†caused by the fast speeding bus?
Why are all these Museveni’s spin doctors bothered so much by FDC rebuff, to use Ofwono’s word, to go to the meeting when their boss, the host himself, said that by not going, Dr. Kizza Besigye had saved “my tea†and that he did not even notice that FDC was not at the meeting? We gave Ugandans very clear reasons for our decision not to attend the July 28 meeting at State House.
We wanted a well prepared engagement whose output would be seen, and seen to be in the interest of all Ugandans, not just exchanging pleasantries for the benefit of the President.
Ofwono said in his column, “But we are now nevertheless glad FDC spokesman Wafula Oguttu has said they will be participating in the interim inter-party committee to be chaired by the NRM Secretary General Amama Mbabazi.â€
No. We did not say that. We had no information and we still have no information about the meeting. So we could not have accepted to participate in something we did not know anything about.
We said we would participate if we agreed with what had been discussed. That meant we would consider our participation or non-participation after receiving the minutes of the July 28 meeting and a formal communication spelling out the nature of the inter-party committee and its terms of reference.
But if the so-called Amama Mbabazi committee is going to be like the Crispus Kiyonga inter-party committee of 2003 which just wasted public resources and time for those involved, then FDC should not be expected to participate in its deliberations at all.
It is not clear to us as to what were the President’s objectives when he called the July 28 meeting at State House. Did he just want to meet the so-called former presidential candidates and according to Nagenda, “in a friendly spirit chat about our country and its future†and “thank them for participating in the race†according to Media Centre boss Robert Kabushenga? Or did he want to set in motion the process of national reconciliation which to us in FDC should culminate into setting up a Truth and Reconciliation Commission? Or did he want to start the process of operationalising the Constitutional provision that provides for setting up a National Inter-Party Forum? Or was he merely responding to CHOGM pressures?
The issues of a National Inter-Party Forum and the Inter-Party Code of Conduct are provided for in the Constitution as amended in 2005. It is a matter supposed to be handled by Parliament and the Electoral Commission, NOT State House or President’s Office.
FDC leaders will not participate in meetings whose objectives are not clear to them even if such meetings are called by the Head of State.