Besigye breaks down over FDC party chaos
A video grab showing an emotional Dr Kizza Besigye at the press conference yesterday. PHOTO/NTV
What you need to know:
He described how Mafabi and Patrick Oboi Amuriat have led the FDC -- a party for whose cause so many people have shed their blood – to the brink.
Opposition stalwart Dr Kizza Besigye yesterday morning delivered an emotional two-hour long speech at a press conference in which he denounced his party’s secretary general as a liar who has staged a coup inside the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).
The retired colonel used the same media briefing to speak in some detail about how Mr Nathan Nandala Mafabi received “dirty money” ahead of the 2021 general elections, and how the secretary general lied to him about the purpose of the money and its source.
“It is a lie that money was extended to me to keep for party agents,” Dr Besigye said.
Over the past fortnight, other party leaders have alleged that billions of shillings were funnelled from State House through Mr Mafabi into FDC as an inducement to betray the party – an allegation he has repeatedly denied.
Many times during the briefing yesterday, Dr Besigye set his prepared statement aside, speaking off the cuff, and at one point stopping to wipe away tears as he described how Mr Mafabi and party president Mr Patrick Oboi Amuriat have led the FDC -- a party for whose cause so many people have shed their blood – to the brink.
“Clearly there is a gross underrating of the gravity of this matter… our struggle has been very costly for people who want change. Many people have died, many people are maimed...,” he said.
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But even in the thick of all the contrasting emotions, the FDC’s founding president never lost sight of what he said is the party’s duty to liberate both itself and the country from the clutches of dictatorship.
All members, he said, should stand tall, reclaim FDC and prevail in the face of the onslaught from those who have enabled the capture of their party.
“There is some kind of coup in the party… the party is captured. I still think that the resilience of the FDC party can be relied on to free the party … because we are still members of this party and we must -- even as we organise the liberation of the country,” he said amidst applause.
Going forward, Dr Besigye declared that the leadership of Mr Amuriat and Mr Mafabi is no longer credible to lead what was once the most formidable opposition group in the country. He said now that the party’s organs have been rendered “dysfunctional”, time is now for urgent corrective action.
He set his sights on what will likely be a decisive FDC national delegates conference scheduled for November, calling for the appointment of a “transitional leadership” to shepherd the party in the interim as it re-organises to restore itself.
Yesterday’s briefing came a week after its National Council convened for an emergency meeting at party headquarters in Najjanankumbi on July 28. The meeting was called in the hope it would help resolve the divisive matter of the dirty money. However, that attempt fell flat. Almost two-thirds of the council membership abandoned the tumultuous meeting hours before a vote on a key committee report on the money matter.
And yesterday, Dr Besigye dismissed that very report, drafted by a Special Elders Committee (SEC,) which was set up to look into the issue as not being worth the paper it was written on.
The committee chaired by Dr Frank Nabwiso made absolutely no effort to establish the facts of the information he had provided pointing to State House as the source of the dirty money, Dr Besigye said, observing that it instead chose to manipulate his testimony before it.
He described how Mr Mafabi lied when he recently falsely claimed (a claim also parroted in the Nabwiso report) that the Shs300 million he handed over to him was for party polling agents. If that was the case, the former FDC leader argued, then it should have been deposited in FDC’s bank account.
“Hon Nandala told me that he had a tax dispute with URA (Uganda Revenue Authority) and was worried his money could be seized from his accounts. He asked me if I could temporarily keep Shs500 million cash for him. I told him that my home was insecure, but could find a safe place to keep it. Please note, that at this time, no mention of elections or FDC was made. It was just money from my friend/colleague,” he said.
Two weeks later, Dr Besigye, who said Mr Nandala actually deposited Shs300 million with him, revealed that he got to learn that even Mr Amuriat had also received Shs280 million from the secretary general, which information was never made public.
Dr Besigye told the press that the FDC has spent the last three years trying to resolve the issue of the dirty money without success. He lamented the opportunity lost by the Nabwiso committee.
“In my submission to the special elders committee, I offered the information I had, and, additionally, emphasised the need for the committee to get the facts (from relevant bank and party records) relating to the funds received ahead of the 2021 elections and their disbursement. This would have been at the heart of disposing the concerns around the “dirty money”,” he said.
Instead, Dr Besigye said his presentation to the committee was selectively and inaccurately recorded.
“For example, I specifically requested the committee to inquire into party accounts and financial records. However, no one, including the Ag Party President, Owek Joyce Ssebuggwawo, or the substantive party president knew how much money, if any, was borrowed; from whom; and on what terms… I consider that the SEC report didn’t help at all in disposing of the highly contentious issue of dirty money.... ”
Call for audit
At the end of his address, Dr Besigye called for a forensic audit of into the operations of FDC.
“…It’s recommended that a forensic audit be commissioned, as a part of the corrective processes, ahead of inclusive, transparent party elections,” he said.
