DP leaders fight over missing on delegates list

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Some Democratic Party (DP) members are nursing injuries after they were attacked by “staunch” supporters who stormed the party headquarters on Kampala city-based Balintuma Road national campaign offices.

The supporters were demanding to see a list of delegates selected to attend the party conference in Mbarara city at the end of this month.

The Wednesday, May 28, 2025, fight ensued when senior party leaders at the offices ordered the closure of the entrance after sensing danger when individual party supporters appeared in party T-shirts from the closed-door meeting that was organised by Bukoto Central Member of Parliament, Richard Sebamala.

“We found when the party security guards, as ordered by president general Norbert Mao, had closed the door to our party headquarters. We forced our entry to check on the lists that were submitted for the Mbarara delegates conference before even many areas were elected,” Daniel Mivule, the organising secretary for DP in Nansana division, said.

DP Press Secretary to the President General, Fred Mwesigwa with DP President General and Justice Minister Norbert Mao and Okoler Opio Lo Amanu, the DP spokesperson on Wednesday (Photo by Isaac Nuwagaba)

According to Mivule, they paid nomination fees and expressed interest through their forms but 'we are not on the lists when we are remaining with only two days".

The fight intensified when DP member Mulindwa Kikwenokweno fought with the party electoral committee chairperson, Kennedy Mutenyo, who by press time was still concealing the purported lists under his court.

“I have sustained bruises, and my left arm is injured. I want to go to the Police to report the case of assault because he fought and pushed me to the ground when he learnt that he was missing from my lists,” Mutenyo said.

The delegates conference in conflict, expected to be attended by 1,600 DP members from 151 districts (according to the DP constitution), is slated to take place on May 31 at Asana Country Resort Hotel Ruti in Mbarara City.

"On my lists, 30 out of 54 delegates members are unopposed and I only have 23 positions to be elected and competed for in Mbarara on May 31 and June I, 2025," Mutenyo revealed, “Other leaders who were kicked out included Andrew Ntale who had contested on the position of President Uganda Young Democrats and several others who failed to meet requirements as per our DP constitution."

Sebamala pushed out in new lists

Sebamala, who has been a member of the DP national council for five years after joining on September 19, 2020, does not meet the requirements to contest as the party president general, which stipulates 10 years of active service as a DP member.

“Sebamala is kicked out from the lists as he holds a DP party ticket in Parliament. He has been organising clandestine moves to create confusion, and we got to know when it was late,” Mutenyo noted.

Sebamala, who first engaged the aggrieved delegates at Twin Tower Hotel in Makerere-Kavule on Wednesday morning, learnt that they were missing on the lists that were submitted by the party secretary general, Gerald Siranda Blacks, to Mutenyo.

“It is only two days remaining, but we have not yet accessed the lists of the selected delegates conference members to elect the leaders who expressed interest to lead the party for the next five years ending 2030,” Sebamala said.

"Mao recently met with President Yoweri Museveni's brother, Gen. Salim Saleh aka Caleb Akandwanaho, in Gulu to cement the DP-NRM relationship. For the DP party to continue on the right track, we must push Mao out under a vote in Mbarara because he lacks transparency and has sided with our greatest opponent and enemy Yoweri Museveni,” Sebamala added.

Mao speaks out on his meeting with Gen. Saleh

Mao, who turned up late for the media briefing after the fight, said he met Salim Saleh with other DP members to see how the Government can support them in fighting poverty in northern Uganda.

“My meeting with Saleh was not about renewing our DP-NRM co-operation but rather to lobby for my DP opposition members who should benefit from government programmes because Gen. Saleh is the co-ordinator for wealth creation and my friend,” Mao said.

"Our meeting was convened at my home, much as we were looking for logistical support for the delegates' conference, but Gen. Saleh did not help us get money like many accused us of," he stated.

According to Mao, the party's international funders withdrew their support from some of the DP activities, but 'some of our friends in NRM have instead been funding Sebamala to create confusion in the party'.

A fortnight ago, DP leaders led by Julius Ddumba petitioned Electoral Commission chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama, challenging the selection of the delegates prior to the completion of transparent and verifiable regional polls, which mandated an open and fair delegates selection process,s which was not done.