Confusion hits DP elections

By Daniel Edyegu and Barbara Among

The Democratic Party (DP) national delegates’ conference yesterday started off amid confusion caused by the abrupt change of venue and the split within the party.

A faction of the party leaders, led by national chairperson Joseph Mukiibi, and deputy secretary general Bayiga Lulume boycotted the conference.

Many delegates yesterday headed to the Mbale Resort Hotel unaware that the organisers had changed the venue at the last minute to Mt. Elgon Hotel.

“We had booked at Mbale Resort Hotel at over sh80m for accommodation of our delegates, the conference hall and camping,” said Peter Mayeku, one of the organisers.

“Surprisingly, we were told at the eleventh hour that somebody else had booked the whole venue. We believe this is sabotage. Somebody is trying to frustrate this conference from taking place.”

The conference to elect the new DP leaders opens this morning. Kampala mayor Nasser Sebaggala is tussling for the party presidency with Gulu district chairman Norbert Mao.

The donor community yesterday announced a contribution of sh50m towards the disputed DP conference.

According to a press statement by the Deepening Democracy Programme, a donation of sh50m was given for the Mbale conference, meant to contribute to the cost of venue hire and meals.

The Deepening Democracy Programme is supported by major donors in Uganda such as the UK, The Netherlands and Sweden. Last month it gave sh400m to FDC, sh157m to UPC, sh36m to the Social Democratic Party and sh53m to the Progressive People’s Party.

The DP delegates’ conference is overshadowed by a dispute among the party leaders. A faction within the national executive committee led by Mukiibi and Lulume has disowned the conference, calling it “a rebellion and coup attempt”.

“NEC has not endorsed or called this meeting and it will not be involved in the activities at Mbale,” read the statement. “NEC is, therefore, not handing over to an illegally convened meeting.”

The faction said they had expelled party president Ssebaana Kizito and replaced him with vice-president Rainer Kafire as acting president. They also announced they had suspended Matia Nsubuga and MP Issa Kikungwe for “organising an illegal conference with funds from dubious sources.”

Kikungwe is also accused of mobilising and deploying violent youth against NEC members at the party headquarters.

Contacted last evening, Ssebaana dismissed his purported expulsion. “That is rubbish. The person purporting to have chaired the meeting (Mukiibi) was already on suspension. The meeting was also not convened by the secretary general and was, therefore, illegal.”

Others opposed to the delegates’ conference include outspoken party spokesperson Betty Nambooze and Kampala central division MP Elias Lukwago, who is also the party’s legal adviser. The faction argues that Nsubuga, who has convened the delegates’ conference, is no longer the party secretary general.

But political analysts argue that the faction opposed to the Mbale conference is against the election of either Mao or Sebaggala as party president.

It was unclear by press time whether former DP president Paul Ssemogerere would attend the conference. Ssemogerere had in vain tried to reconcile the two rival factions. The retired Archbishop of Kampala, Emmanuel Cardinal Wamala, also tried to reconcile the factions. DP is the country’s oldest party. It was formed in 1954 and held political power only briefly in 1961, before independence, when then party president Ben Kiwanuka was elected chief minister.