How Mao won DP’s top seat

Feb 21, 2010

Behind the scenes, party strategists had hatched a plan to ensure that the Uganda Young Democrats would dominate the new party leadership.

By Moses Mulondo

Behind the scenes, party strategists had hatched a plan to ensure that the Uganda Young Democrats would dominate the new party leadership.

An independent study had discovered that the domination of party positions by aging leaders like John Ssebaana Kizito and Joseph Mukiibi was one of the reasons why the party was not appealing to the masses.

For a decade, DP has been Uganda’s opposition party with the strongest and most vibrant youth wing. That explains why in the past 10 years, the majority of guild presidents at Makerere University and other universities were DP.

With the election of the 43-year-old Norbert Mao and other party officials, the youth wing has effectively taken over the leadership, a move which analysts believe will increase the party’s popularity.

Besides making history by voting a non-Muganda as its president, the DP is set to be the party with the youngest leadership in the country.

Apart from Mao, other youthful top officials include Jinja mayor Mohamed Kezaala, who was elected the party chairman, Mukasa Mbidde, who became the legal adviser, Issa Kikungwe, the treasurer and Lutkmoi Mwakawa, the spokesperson.

Although one faction of DP boycotted the Mbale conference, the entire squad of the Uganda Young Democrats, the party’s mobilisation machinery, was present and unreservedly supported Mao.

For purposes of re-branding DP as a national party, consensus was reached that certain individuals from different parts of the country would be promoted to key positions. That is why the party chairman, vice-chairperson and spokesperson all stood unopposed.

Also for purposes of creating a more trustable image of the new DP leadership, a compromise was reached to shift Mbidde from the position of national vice-president to legal adviser so that Masaka municipality MP John Baptist Kawanga could go through unopposed as Mao’s vice-president.

Others won unopposed as a way of appreciating their efforts in organising the conference. These included Mathias Nsubuga, who retained the post of secretary general, and treasurer Kikungwe.

The delegates also resolved that a committee will be instituted to persuade promising politicians who stayed away to be incorporated in the party’s executive.

Top DP leaders who boycotted the Mbale conference include legal adviser Elias Lukwago, chairman Joseph Mukiibi, organising secretary Deo Njoki, spokesperson Betty Nambooze, general vice-president Juliet Rainer Kafire, deputy secretary general Lulume Bayiga, women leader Ikiria Ssepuuya, deputy chairman Ali Sserunjogi, vice-president for Buganda Joseph Balikuddembe, deputy legal adviser Peter Ssebyuma and presidential aspirant Samuel Lubega.

The break-away faction has planned to hold a national council meeting on March 4 where they want to ask the court to nullify the Mbale election results.

But the DP group now led by Mao has already politically emerged the winner. It has been able to win over the party structures and an overwhelming majority of the party’s movers and shakers.

According to highly placed sources, a strategy is being worked out to deal with senior party officials who boycotted the Mbale conference if they don’t desist from further sabotage.

“The group that refused to come to Mbale should be ready for a serious political war in which we shall deal with them. We shall not tolerate any more sabotage. It is wiser for them to join us,” Kikungwe was heard telling a fellow DP official

Mao, for now, sounds reconciliatory. He promised he would do his best to bring those who boycotted the conference back into the fold of the party leadership.

“If I could shake hands with Joseph Kony and his deputy, Vincent Otti, for purposes of peace and reconciliation, how much more and swiftly can I do with my colleagues like Nambooze, Lukwago and others,” he said shortly before being declared the winner.

Efforts by the reconciliation committee, headed by former party president Paul Ssemogerere and eminent party member Fredrick Ssempebwa, received a serious blow when their recommendation of postponing the conference until the two warring groups had reconciled was ignored.

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