Fight For FDC Leadership Leaders One Faction Into Seek To Dissolve Party

For almost a year, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has been embroiled in battles of all kinds including legal, verbal and physical bombardments.

It is a fight on different fronts that is threatening the life of a political party that once became a formidable force against the nearly 40 year’s leadership of President Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.

Founding party President, Dr Kizza Besigye using Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago as a trusted lieutenant has led a group based at Katonga road in Kampala to reject the current leadership at FDC headquarters at Najjankumbi, accusing them of attempting to sell the entity to Mr Museveni.

Since September 19, 2023, Dr Besigye has led a team traversing the country in what they called consultations of FDC members on whether to reconcile with the leadership of Patrick Amuriat Oboi (President) and Nathan Nandala Mafabi (Secretary General), form a new party or join an already established party.

While presenting a report to the August 19 delegates’ conference for the Katonga faction, Lukwago said that only three out of the 20 sub-regions they visited suggested that a new party be registered.  The three regions that called for reconciliation are Acholi, Rwenzori and Teso where the party has a significant number of elected leaders. However, Lukwago introduced another issue that was not part of the consultations which is the dissolution of the party called FDC.

The delegates at the Monday meeting were asked to take a decision on three resolutions as a way of finding a solution to the year-long squabbles within the political party. The resolutions were; extending the tenure of the interim leadership for another nine months and fill all vacant positions; commence the process of dissolving the FDC party; and form a new political party.

The pushback

Holding as the official and legitimate FDC Secretary General, Mafabi lashed at the FDC Katonga faction describing the leaders there as “rabble-rousers” because they do not have mandate to take decisions for the party that is legally registered with the Electoral Commission.

Nandala in a circular issued on Monday evening dared the Lukwago led faction to take on the legal processes of dissolving the political party that has existed since 2005. He challenged the leaders at Katonga to show proof that they are the true and legitimate leaders of the FDC by showing the returns they make to the Electoral Commission.

“”The meeting of the party can only be called by authorised office bearers, of the party, of which one Mr. Wasswa Birigwa and Mr Lukwago Erias, who have been posturing and or masquerading as Party Chairman and Party President respectively are not, and as such they are not authorised to call a delegates conference. This alleged Party “Delegate’s meeting” is nothing but a meeting of attention seeking, like minded, disgruntled rabble-rousers who should be ignored,” noted Mafabi in a statement.

He argued the public not to be “mis-led by these acts of theatrics” before accusing Lukwago of always negatively looking to impact every political organisation he joins.

Mafabi also attacked Lukwago for incompetently leading Kampala hence blaming the recent Kiteezi landfill disaster that killed dozens of people and displaced over 50 homes on the Lord Mayor’s failure to find solutions in time.

“That as residents of Kampala Capital City are still recovering from the tragedy of Kiteezi, for which Mr Lukwago is squarely because of his impotence as a leader, it is surprising that Mr Lukwago Erias and a few councilors of Kampala Capital City, can find time to perpetuate political jokes, without first clarifying when they will finally start working to better the lives of the people of Kampala Capital City,” Nandala added.

The FDC Katonga resolution to dissolve the political party comes at a time when the leadership at Najjankumbi is traversing the country to launch the e-registration of members and mobilizing support ahead of the 2026 general elections. Having held large rallies in Soroti, Mbale, Kasese, Arua, Gulu and Buikwe, the FDC leaders at Najjankumbi are heading to Jinja city on August 24.

In October 2023, High Court Judge, Musa Ssekaana threw out the FDC Katonga application for an injunction to stop the FDC Najjankumbi organised delegates conference that elected the current leadership. Justice Ssekaana in deciding the application stated that it had been brought in “bad faith” since it was filed at a time when delegates had started arriving in Kampala and that the main suit would not be disposed of in a short time.

As the party continues on a divided line, the Electoral Commission has been implementing a roadmap towards the 2026 general elections. There are fears that FDC may be caught up by time and arrive at the elections unprepared if the internal wrangles are not resolved early.