A faction of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), located at Katonga Road in Kampala, has criticized the recent election of new delegates conducted by their counterparts at Najjanankumbi. The Katonga faction claims that the election was conducted improperly and outside the FDC party constitution. According to the faction’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the FDC constitution, specifically in articles 23 and 28, states that the FDC National Executive Committee (NEC) should be elected by a national delegates conference, convened and chaired by the party chairman or chairperson. Since the FDC chairman, Amb. Wasswa Birigwa, did not preside over the Najjanankumbi meeting, the Katonga faction considers the election illegitimate.
The Katonga faction believes that this meeting, a first in the 18-year history of the FDC, was illegal under the party’s constitution. They filed a civil suit on September 29 to challenge the legality of the meeting held on October 6, 2023, led by Toterebuka Bamwenda. However, this case has not yet been heard.
On October 6, the Najjanankumbi FDC faction organized a delegates’ conference at Patidar Samaj Sports Ground in Lugogo, Kampala, during which they elected at least 51 members of the National Executive Committee. Notable appointments include Patrick Amuriat as president, Nandala Mafabi as Secretary General, John Kikonyogo as the new party spokesperson (replacing Ssemujju Nganda), and Jack Sabiiti as the national party chairperson (replacing Amb. Wasswa Birigwa).
The Katonga faction insisted that the outcomes of the Najjanankumbi conference are not binding and merely represent a meeting organized by Nandala Mafabi and Patrick Amuriat. They also emphasized that the legal process concerning the conference’s legality is ongoing.
The interim president of the Katonga faction and Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago, stated that the interim leadership was appointed to serve for six months until March 2024 when a delegates’ conference would be held to elect new NEC members. He cautioned FDC members against believing that the court had cleared the Najjanankumbi conference, emphasizing that the case was still pending before the court and had not been settled.
Wasswa Birigwa, the FDC national chairperson, along with 27 others, sought a court order to block the Najjanankumbi delegates’ conference, which they believed would lead to their removal from party positions. However, their application was dismissed by Justice Musa Ssekaana, who did not make a final ruling on the legality of the meeting.
Lukwago stressed that Justice Ssekaana’s ruling did not declare the Najjanankumbi meeting lawful or a legitimate delegates’ conference according to FDC party constitution. He assured FDC members that a proper delegates’ conference would take place in March to elect new National Executive Committee members, and the interim leadership’s plan remained unchanged.
