{UAH} FDC’s Muntu in fix over Mafabi
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6:19 AM |
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The Forum for Democratic Change was by yesterday still at crossroads over the impending move to shake up its leadership in Parliament.
FDC President Mugisha Muntu Muntu is caught between getting the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, Nathan Nandala-Mafabi, out of a job he has been in for the last two and half years and allowing him to serve out the entire term of the 9th Parliament. It is a decision Maj Gen Muntu could make today, when the party's national executive committee convenes at Najjanankumbi, said a senior party official who requested anonymity.
But it is also a decision that could be out of his hands. Other party sources told The Observer that Friday's meeting would discuss modalities of how to choose the new leaders – whether through presidential appointment or an election.
During a lengthy meeting at Najjanankumbi on Tuesday, members of the national executive committee failed to agree on the modalities and the matter was pushed to today's meeting. A senior party official interviewed for this story said that irrespective of Tuesday's disagreements, anything was possible in today's meeting and it would not be surprising if Muntu announced new leadership.
"A lot has been going on in the background," the senior party official said, adding that he hoped "the party remains together no matter what is decided."
Yet whatever the case, how the party eventually selects the leaders could turn out to be the biggest test for the Muntu presidency, over a year since he replaced Dr Kizza Besigye. Should the party give him the leeway to appoint, Muntu will have to choose between Mafabi, who challenged him for the presidency in 2012; Alice Alaso, the party secretary general and his strong backer; Cecilia Ogwal, the Dokolo Woman MP; and experienced legislator and Abdu Katuntu, the articulate shadow attorney general, as leader of opposition.
The post of chief whip, currently occupied by Winnie Kiiza, the Kasese Woman MP, will also be up for review. Sources have told us that Kiiza is targeting a slot on the Parliamentary Commission, and therefore, may not be up for consideration. So far, Christine Abia, the Arua Woman MP and, Florence Ibi Ekwau, the Kaberamaido Woman MP, have expressed interest in the position.
Mafabi V Alaso
Sources told us that the front-runners for the leader of opposition slot are Alaso and Mafabi. Alaso told The Observer yesterday that she is "interested" in the position but was quick to add that the party would make the final decision.
"It is out of my hands and I don't want to appear like I'm canvassing for support," she said.
The rivalry between the two dates back to June 2011 when Besigye appointed Mafabi ahead of Alaso and Ogwal as leader of opposition. Given her seniority in the party, Alaso believed she deserved the post, yet as chairperson of the Public Accounts Committee during the 8th Parliament; some people believed Mafabi had distinguished himself as a capable leader.
However, it was the election of Muntu, as party president, that further strained the relationship between the two. Mafabi's camp accused Alaso of having used her position as secretary general to inflate the number of delegates who voted, an accusation she denied. Party officials close to Muntu told us that he preferred that Mafabi continues in the role for the sake of harmony.
With 2016 lurking in the corner, sources said Muntu does not want to be derailed by any disagreements that could emerge if Mafabi is kicked out. Yet they also acknowledged that Muntu had come under tremendous pressure, particularly from the group of MPs that backed him, not to endorse Mafabi.
One of the MPs, sources said, spoke of "payback" time for Mafabi after an acrimonious campaign in 2012.
It is a catch-22 situation for Muntu. Should he stick with Mafabi, he risks alienating some of his allies in the party. On the other hand, should Muntu appoint Alaso or any other person, Mafabi and his allies will feel hard done by and could leave the party.
A section of Mafabi's supporters in Bugisu sub-region last year urged him to leave FDC and form his party, but he rejected the calls. Razor-thin, Mafabi remains an asset to FDC and his mobilization skills are partly responsible for the sizeable support that FDC enjoys in Bugisu sub-region.
But his leadership style–of being strict with accountability, meetings and reports– has won him more enemies amongst the FDC MPs, many of whom are not used to this kind of scrutiny. Aaron Mukwaya, a senior lecturer of Political Science at Makerere University, told The Observer yesterday that the best option for FDC under the circumstances was to subject the position to an election.
"As long as it [election] is transparent, it is better than appointing an individual," Mukwaya said.
Wafula Oguttu said the party was united and said the media should not read much into today's meeting.
"We are just assessing ourselves to see how we can become better as a party in Parliament. That is all," he said
ekiggundu@observer.ug
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