{UAH} NRM now plots to expel Amama

NRM now plots to expel Amama

Written by Sadab Kitatta Kaaya

 Last Updated: 03 August 2015

 

Amama Mbabazi

Amama Mbabazi's announcement on Friday that he would run for president outside the NRM has quickly harnessed the ruling party's anger.

According to insiders, NRM attorneys are poring over the party rules, especially Rule 4(0), searching for clues that prohibit any member from campaigning against the official party candidate.

"As of [July 31], Museveni is the official NRM candidate for president and for any party member to stand against him constitutes a disciplinary case," Mubarakh Kalungi, the NRM legal officer, said on Saturday.

The special media assistant in the office of the NRM chairman, Don Innocent Wanyama separately told The Observer on July 31 that Mbabazi's announcement could be used to build a case for his expulsion from the party.

Mbabazi announced his exit from the NRM internal electoral process at a news conference at his home in Kololo last Friday.  He criticized NRM's electoral rules and regulations which he sees as skewed against him. But significantly, Mbabazi refused to quit the NRM, a party he helped to found.

"I am not leaving NRM. I am just not running on the NRM ticket," he said.

DISMISSAL

But if he won't leave, the NRM looks set to force him out. On July 28, NRM secretary general Justine Kasule Lumumba presented to the Central Executive Committee (CEC), NRM's second highest decision making organ, a report accusing Mbabazi, his wife Jacqueline, sister-in-law, Hope Mwesigye and former Vice President Prof Gilbert Bukenya of misconduct.

The report was an outcome of the meetings a four-member CEC committee had with the accused. Mbabazi is the only accused, who responded to the committee summonses, but even when he appeared, he made a presentation that angered Museveni who eventually left the meeting.

Based on Lumumba's report, Museveni directed the partyÆs disciplinary committee to institute disciplinary charges against his former comrades. In his announcement last Friday, Mbabazi accused the top NRM leadership of boldly disregarding constitutionalism.

"The top leadership of NRM is no longer the keeper of democracy and rule of law; in this, I cannot be an accomplice," Mbabazi said. 

Although Mbabazi's exit from the NRM primaries could have saved Museveni from an internal challenge, the party is determined to crack the whip on the Kinkiizi West MP.

"If he retains the party card, that means that he is still bound by the party rules," Rogers Mulindwa, Lumumba's special media assistant said on Saturday.

Indeed on Friday, NRM deputy spokesman Ofwono Opondo tweeted urging Mbabazi to return the NRM party card.

"If [Mbabazi] is decent enough, he should return the NRM card, resign from Parliament and become and independent," read one of Opondo's tweets.

Mbabazi told journalists that as a founder member of the NRM, lawyer and patriotic Ugandan, he remains committed to the true principles of NRM but will not bind himself to illegalities.

Listed as number five among the 179 NRM subscribers who adopted the NRM constitution at the time of its registration, Mbabazi last week found himself being told to respect the party rules.

"Because he signed this constitution, it means he is okay with it; he canÆt turn against his own law," Kalungi said.

A source within NRM said that the top party brass is expected to sit this week and decide a way forward on Mbabazi. According to insiders, a disciplinary process against Mbabazi may wait until after the delegates' conference in October.

"We are waiting for the delegates' conference to endorse Museveni as our flag bearer, and if he [Mbabazi] goes ahead to stand as an independent when he is still an NRM card holder, then the alternative will be a dismissal [from the party]," Mulindwa said.

SOLE CANDIDATE

Some NRM leaders, however, feel the party shouldn't be hard on Mbabazi since his withdrawal from the NRM electoral process granted Museveni the sole candidacy and straightened his road to victory in the 2016 polls.

These, however, could be a minority. The state minister for planning, David Bahati, said on Saturday that although it was great that Mbabazi left Museveni alone in the race, he (Mbabazi) needs to get clear on his political stand.

"His indecisiveness is not good for him and the country; he claims he is still with us [NRM] but then sends an envoy to The Democratic Alliance [TDA]," Bahati said.

Museveni was among the last NRM aspirants to pick their nominations forms on Friday. He is the only one who has expressed interest in the party chairmanship and presidential flag-bearer.

And as soon as he received the forms, on Friday, Museveni made veiled attacks against Mbabazi for going against the NRM culture.

"Historically, we worked and afterwards we would sit and agree on crucial matters," Museveni said.

"This culture of wanting... [saying]...I want, I want.. is not part of NRM," he added.

NO WAY

The head of Mbabazi's communications and publicity team, Josephine Mayanja-Nkangi said on Saturday that the presidential hopeful was not moved by the NRM threats.

According to Nkangi, no one in NRM can force Mbabazi to return the party card because, the onus is on him as a subscriber under Article 8(2) to choose when to opt out of NRM.

But the party may take advantage of clause 4(e) of the same article to dismiss him. Nkangi, however, argued that it may not apply given the previous precedents.

"We have NRM-leaning independents in Parliament, and it is world over. These new kids who joined NRM yesterday cannot pretend to teach Mbabazi the NRM rules," Nkangi said.

Nkangi's line of argument is also shared by the shadow minister for Justice and Constitutional affairs, Medard Lubega Sseggona (Busiro East MP) who argued that NRM cannot come up with a good case against Mbabazi since Museveni has previously sided with independent candidates.

Sseggona also argued that rules that apply to members cannot apply to subscribers. 

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

"Even a small dog can piss on a tall Building", Jim Hightower

"But this I know, UPC believed and still believes in

very high education. We can call Obote all bad names we have, but the bottom line remains that he got more scholarships for Buganda than all previous Uganda leaders combined. That includes Sir Edward Mutesa, President Lule, President Binayisa, up to and into Ssabasajja Mutebi. Who all happen to be Baganda leaders." Mulindwa

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