FDC basks in Mbale crowd glory, asks parties to build structures

Still basking in the good feeling of the huge crowd that thronged the Cricket Ground in Mbale City on Saturday, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party now attributes the triumph to its strong institutional structures.

Mr John Kikonyogo, the party spokesperson, who addressed journalists at the party headquarters in Kampala on Monday in the wake of the Saturday success, advised other political parties to build institutions and not rely on the individual charisma of leaders.

The FDC party fans clad in their blue party colour on Saturday cheered and chanted the names of party leaders Patrick Oboi Amuriat, and secretary general Nathan Nandala Mafabi as they took to the stage during a consultative meeting.

Only a scant crowd graced a similar consultative meeting called by their Katonga rivals under de facto leader and hugely charismatic Col (rtd) Dr Kizza Besigye early last month.

Mbale has been one of Dr Besigye’s strongholds where he used to draw massive crowds.

Mr Kikonyogo said parties built on the shoulders of individual leaders hardly survive when that person leaves the party. He did not elaborate nor did he mention any names.

“Build parties which are institutions, not parties that follow an individual because that individual may decide to leave in the middle of the lake and you have to sail on your own,” Mr Kikonyogo warned.

“If FDC had built individuals, we would have been in serious danger now,” he said.

Mr Kikonyogo said despite the recent bitter split within the party, they were able to pull crowds in Soroti and Mbale because FDC was built as an institution, not on individuals.

The ongoing national mobilization campaigns by the Amuriat-led FDC faction aims to recruit new party members and also register new members.

The fallout between Dr Besigye and rival FDC party leadership at Najjanankumbi came into play in November last year after Dr Besigye accused them of receiving ‘dirty’ money from President Museveni for the 2021General Election, which they have dismissed.

The split pitted former founding President Dr Kizza Besigye, then party spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, and deputy president Erias Lukwago on the one hand, and sitting party president Oboi Amuriat and Secretary General Nandala Mafabi on the other.

Explaining the change in fortunes, Ms Charity Ahimbisibwe, the executive director of the Electoral Laws Institute in Uganda, said the challenge by Dr Besigye to pull crowds in Mbale could be because he no longer offers new messages for the people.

“There's nothing new he's telling them. They have heard all these stories of corruption, hospitals not working, bad roads, potholes, but he is not saying anything new,” she said.

Ms Ahimbisibwe said if Besigye has to capture the crowds again, he has to coin new messages that resonate with the young and the old generation in the voting-age bracket. But she also said crowds are moved by several factors, ranging from money, good mobilisation and charismatic messages.

She said Dr Besigye might have also not had good mobilisation before he visited Mbale.

“The political terrain in Uganda is quite interesting and anybody can pull crowds and anybody can lose crowds at any time. Money can draw people and many will show up because they are going to get free lunch, free tents, free places to sit among others,” Ms Ahimbisibwe said.

She said the Nandala impact could have been derived from him being a Member of Parliament from the Bugisu region and the chairperson of the all-powerful farmer’s body, the Busigu Cooperative Union.