FDC Crisis Deepens As Ssemujju Nganda Spills Dirty Secrets

Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the member of parliament for Kira Municipality has claimed that Nathan Nandala Mafabi is planning to hand over the party to President Museveni. 

Mafabi is the secretary-general of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).

During a consultative meeting today in Kampala, Ssemujju raised concerns that Mafabi and others are conspiring to manipulate the upcoming election in order to seize control of the FDC and hand it over to National Resistance Movement chairman President Yoweri Museveni. 

Ssemujju also expressed his belief that President Museveni is accelerating his agenda to eradicate all political parties, including the FDC. He vowed that they will not allow this to happen.

The tension in the party has split the party into two factions: one led by current president Patrick Oboi Amuriat, and a second allegedly loyal to founder president Dr Kizza Besigye Kifefe,  which Ssemujju follows.

The source of the fracture within the FDC is reportedly the disagreement between the Amuriat-Mafabi faction and the pro-Besigye group over party leadership and direction.

Mafabi has been accused of failing to implement key party decisions, while Ssemujju further accused him of corruption.

“The Nandala group is rushing to hold an election so that he gets all the authority, trust me after the election, Nandala will take FDC to Museveni like the way it happened to the Democratic Party (DP) and Uganda People’s Congress (UPC),” Ssemujju Nganda said.

Nganda argued that if Mafabi’s alleged machinations succeeded, they would enable Museveni to fulfil the threat he first made in 2016 of finishing all political parties and making FDC irrelevant in the bargain.  

Nganda made the comments during the party consultative meeting which is ongoing at Nsambya Sharing Hall in Kampala is aimed at redirecting the FDC to its core mission.

Ssemujju who is also the party spokesperson convened the meeting to discuss elections for the party structure starting from villages upwards.

Ssemujju said FDC Internal elections help political parties renew themselves. Unfortunately, the internal elections, which provide an opportunity to present themselves again, are being selfishly bungled.

“It is this observation that made us think twice about rushing these elections. I am very happy this meeting has happened, there were very many people who did not want it to happen. I would like to thank those of you who have travelled from far to reach here,” he said.

He claimed that Museveni’s family is taking over, robbing Ugandans in broad daylight.

 “Every day, we spend Shs 1.1 billion on Museveni and his wife because their children have grown and left the State House. We are spending Shs 47.7 million per hour on Museveni. We are spending Shs 800,000 on Museveni and his wife per minute,” he claimed.

“Sometimes you can salivate when Parliament is giving them all this money. I hope you know Salim Saleh has built an Industrial Park in Kapeeka using your (taxpayers’) money,” he added.

 He claimed that Museveni’s regime is more dangerous than those robbing mobile money kiosks.

 He said that the struggle to stop President Museveni from installing himself as a life President in 2003-2004 played a key role in the formation of the FDC.

Formerly Uganda’s strongest opposition party and arguably the country’s most widespread opposition, FDC finds itself in a complex situation and staring at not just a split but a bitter one.

The party that expected to reinvent itself, finds itself dwelling in the shadow of its founders and stuck in a ditch dug deep by two factions.

Since 2016, there has been an ongoing power struggle between party leaders of the FDC, specifically between Nandala Mafabi, Ssemujju Nganda, and party president Patrick Oboi Amuriat.

The root of their disagreement stems from unresolved party conflicts involving the leadership of the FDC led by Amuriat and party secretary general Nathan Nandala Mafabi (Budadiri County West MP).

Ssemujju has accused Nandala of going against the party’s principles, with sources saying that the rift was fueled by a significant sum of money received by Mafabi’s group, with no clear source reported. 

Mafabi allegedly failed to disclose where the money came from.