Govt calls 10 parties

Jan 21, 2004

THE Government has invited 10 other political groups for preparatory talks on transition to pluralism today at Fairway Hotel. The meeting will be chaired by the National Political Commissar, Dr. Crispus Kiyonga.

By Felix Osike and Henry Mukasa

THE Government has invited 10 other political groups for preparatory talks on transition to pluralism today at Fairway Hotel. The meeting will be chaired by the National Political Commissar, Dr. Crispus Kiyonga.

Among those invited are leaders of the Democratic Party splinter group Francis Bwengye and the ousted Conservative Party President Joash Mayanja Nkangi.

Bwengye announced last week that his group will be led by former Electoral Commissioner member Robert Kitariko.

Kitariko was the DP’s secretary general before he joined the Electoral Commission. Donge Opar, a city lawyer is on the team.

Nkangi said yesterday he had lost a close relative and would travel to Masaka for burial. He said his efforts to seek a postponement were in vain because the NPC was out of town.

Nkangi also declined to name members of his team saying he would disclose their identity on Friday.

Other shadow political groups invited are the People’s Independent Party (PIP) of Yahaya Kamulegeya, Action Party of Nelson Ocheger and the National People’s Organisation of Jaggwe Abdoul Rahman.

The New Vision could not establish by press time the other five political groups.

In a press statement in January, Jaggwe said, “We the promoters of the National Peoples’ Organisation have on behalf of all the new political organisations resolved to request the NPC to invite all the new organisations for talks.

as the old parties have been invited,” he stated.

Self-exiled Herman Semujju of the unregistered National Freedom Party in a statement from London yesterday said his group had also been invited for the talks.

The statement said NFP was not only prepared but also, “ready to meet the government and discuss the transition roadmap to multipartyism and federalism in Uganda.” NFP team will be led by Joel Luliko Wakayima.

Sources said government has set up a committee to vet the political organisations seeking talks on the transition. This is interpreted to be a response to accusations by the leader of the Coalition Prof. John Jean Barya last week that some of the 50 unregistered political groups had government patronage.

Fourteen leaders from the coalition of seven main political groups met Kiyonga at the same venue on Monday.

While saying that government is free to consult with other political groups, Barya warned they are opposed to creation of fake groups “like it did during the referendum.”

“That was not a genuine process. Those who represented multi-party were not Multipartyists. Let’s not involve in gimmicks,” Barya said.

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