The power struggle in the opposition camp has hit new heights as acts of political brinkmanship among opposition political leaders head to a climax ahead of the 2021 general polls.
The power crisis in the opposition camp on who takes up the mantle has exposed opposition leaders’ activities in a bid to reorganize their prowess against the formidable force of the NRM party led by President Yoweri Museveni.
With less than 12 months to the general polls, the opposition camp is still struggling to find a ‘competent’ candidate to contest in the general polls as the power struggle heats up among top opposition political parties of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Democratic Party (DP) and People Power- a political pressure group.
As a result, some top individuals in the opposition camp who include Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, Butambala County MP Muwanga Kivumbi (DP) and Kiira Municipality MP Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda (FDC) have stepped up as main actors in trying to build an alliance between FDC and People Power at the expense of the DP party.
According to impeccable sources, the trio hold secret meetings very late at night. The meetings are usually conducted at Muwanga Kivumbi's house or Bobi Wine's house in Magere with a sole purpose of trying to neutralize DP’s Norbert Mao and FDC’s Kizza Besigye in favour of People Power’s Bobi Wine. DP’s Kivumbi is a public critic of Norbert Mao and has often times referred to him as a noisemaker who is not worth being the Party president.
The DP opposition camp further slipped into disarray recently when singer Jose Chameleone announced his grand entry into the political camp as Party President Norbert Mao welcomed him with mixed feelings. Whereas Mao would want to support Chameleone for Lord Mayor against Lukwago, he thinks Chameleone is a mole who has come with the agenda of undermining the party and entire opposition.
It is therefore clear that Mao does not trust Chameleone in the DP camp whom he has accused of hobnobbing with other rival parties including Bobi Wine and the NRM party. Mao also criticizes Chameleone of being in bed with rival DP sect which he termed as ‘hostile’ against his leadership.
Among the leaders within DP whom Mao accuses of being hostile towards his leadership include former Suubi and TJ members likes Lukwago, Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze and Muwanga Kivumbi. The three mentioned DP diehards have been closely working with Bobi Wine who does not see eye to eye with either Mao or Besigye.
In fact, late last year, frustrated Mao, threatened to crack a whip against the mentioned political party members accusing them of not adhering to the values of DP by supporting other rival opposition political leaders.
According to sources, Bobi Wine wants to take advantage of the confusion in the DP camp to seize the party flag from Mao who has already been fought by party members and has become very unpopular in the DP camp ahead of the 2020 internal elections. Whereas Bobi Wine is apparently using Chameleone to bring down Mao, the former does not trust the latter is using the Suubi group within DP to marginalize Chameleon.
It is said that Bobi Wine plans to influence the politics in DP to ensure that the party amends its constitution to allow others party members who are not necessarily flag bearers to contest in the general polls.
This plan if successful is to allow Bobi Wine to hijack DP as he looks for a soft landing to contest against President Museveni because his People Power is not yet a registered political party. However, Bobi Wine’s move to hijack DP is being strongly resisted by Mao-the reason he wants to get rid of the likes of Muwanga Kivumbi, Betty Nambooze and Erias Lukwago among others.
Political analysts have however, warned Mao against cracking a whip on Kivumbi, Nambooze and Lukwago for fear that it would boomerang on his leadership and lead to his complete downfall.