NRM has no 'NRM Poor Youth Forum' - Ofwono

By David Lumu

KAMPALA - The ruling NRM party has vehemently denied the existence of the NRM Poor Youth Forum that was declared this week by a section of youth at the party headquarters at Plot 10, Kyadondo.

Ofwono Opondo, the NRM deputy spokesperson, says any youth claiming to belong to such an organisation is an “imposter” and that party officials should treat them as such.

“NRM has no organ known as "NRM Poor Youth Forum" to call any meeting of the party anywhere,” he emphasized.

Ofwono, who is also the Government spokesperson, clarified that there is no provision in the NRM constitution that mandates the NRM Poor Youth Forum members to summon a Youth Delegate’s conference.

“Under the NRM constitution you cannot wake up a promise a delegate’s conference. Not even President Museveni can do that,” he said.

“The procedure is that one writes to the party national chairman. Then the chairman writes to the Central Executive Committee (CEC). It is CEC that directs the secretary general to gazette the delegate’s conference and also provide an agenda.”

The NRM spokesperson added: “Any NRM so-called youth group purporting to call a delegates conference must be frauds and shouldn’t be believed. None of those youth followed the process. Even if you are disgruntled there is a process.

“The youth are out of order. Those who were at the party headquarters were imposters who want cheap popularity.”

This week the NRM Poor Youth Forum youth stormed the NRM premises contesting a statement from Denis Namara, the chairperson of the NRM Youth League, disowning what he called a clandestinely organized youth delegate’s conference.

Namara also denounced the NRM Poor Youth Forum.

However, the youth insist that they are NRM members and that their organisation (NRM Poor Youth Forum) was formed in May 2011.

But who are they?

Richard Kirekyankuba is 25 years. He is their national coordinator and a senior four student at Bwaise Parents. He is also says that he is the Bwaise III NRM youth chairperson.

Vincent Kaggwa is 24 years. He is the interim spokesperson of the NRM Poor Youth Forum and chairman of NRM youth in Kawempe sub-county. He is in senior six at Kololo High School.

Caroline Nassiwa, 22, is the secretary of the forum and studies commerce at Makerere University.

Mubarak Ssentezza, also 22, deputises Kaggwa as in Kawempe. He is in senior six at Mulusa Academy in Wobulenzi, Luwero.

Farouk Muleme is 27 years and holds a Diploma in communication from UMCAT School of Journalism.

Ismail Mutebi is 19 years and studied at Mulago SSS and he is in senior six vacations.

Kirekyankuba says they have members in every Kampala parish and that they are 3,000. The headquarters of the forum are at Kawempe near the KCCA division headquarters.

“Don’t deny us. Don’t throw us aside. We have no one pushing us. We are poor because we don’t have a patron. Some of our colleagues are now working as KCCA law enforcement officers,” he said.