Besigye, clean your house first

By David Serumaga

On Monday, December 24, 2018, I read story titled "Besigye vows to unite opposition". This same story circulated in all media platforms meaning that it had a point and I happen to have followed it from the day it was aired until when it is printed. 

While addressing journalists on Friday last week at his home in Kasangati Wakiso district, the former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) president Dr. Col Kizza Besigye vowed to unite opposition members. This is a good idea but I see it as a dream far away from reality, which may not be Besigye's achievement.

When we talk about uniting political parties, flashbacks come to our minds for example; in 2015, when The Democratic Alliance (TDA) was formed, its epoch did not last for long or achieving its main aim but rather put down by Dr. Besigye who declared his candidature hence to the fall of TDA.

Addition to that, when all opposition political party leaders with representatives in Parliament met with the National Resistance Movement, under their umbrella of the Inter Party Organisations for Dialogue (IPOD) it is only FDC that did not show up. This was a big blow but undressing FDC's disagreements in dialoguing. Besides other issues to be discussed in this IPOD Summit, it was also a ground that might have saved a lot more so shape the hard part of disagreement and brings back the lost relationship after resettling out disagreements among the opposition political parties. As Dr. Besigye is regarded as a senior member in FDC and sometimes his decisions are believed, he would have advised his party president to take a part in the IPOD discussions.

When Dr. Besigye talks about uniting opposition, no one can believe him because even few weeks ago, he was recorded fighting his fellow opposition member Robert Kyagulanyi something which does not build opposition more so doing it in the media. Such disagreements are making President Museveni more powerful and a strong leader that Uganda's disorganized opposition cannot manage.

When we try to look into FDC, it is as if a failed political party if not crawling because its fellow members are not united at all. This year, its former party president Maj Gen Mugisha Muntu left FDC and formed his new political party. Worst of all, Muntu moved out of FDC with majority of its members to his new party. Although they have not declared it publically in fear to be chased out of Parliament, it is evident that many are loyal to him but not to Hon. Patrick Amuriat Poa the FDC party president.

To confirm this, those who are believed to loyal to Muntu like Alice Alaso, Paul Mwiru, Patrick Baguma, Kassiano Wadri and Mr. Iddi Ouma among others were sacked from their party leadership positions and replaced immediately. Some of the above mentioned leaders have come up openly to criticize Besigye's way of leadership describing him as a one man army who thinks that he is the king of the party even if he is out of its leadership.

As a leader, and someone who had hopes in leading this country, there is no way you would let almost 30 top leaders to leave your house like that and to deteriorate it, you would have advised the party secretary general to have a dialogue with those who seemed not to be happy with Mr. Patrick Amuriat's leadership before sacking them.

If FDC is facing such challenges of disorganisation and disunity, Dr. Besigye should first look into it, repair FDC's broken eggs and balance its boat before looking into uniting the opposition because there is no way he can do it in a broader picture yet his own party is failing to unit or even its members are leaving day after day.

The writer is the President of the Buganda Youth Wing

serumagadavid916@gmail.com