Police deployed ahead of Birigwa’s FDC conference
Police are seen on Sepember 19, 2023 in Busabala where FDC party chairman had planned a delegates conference. PHOTO/ISAAC KASAMANI
What you need to know:
Police have deployed at Busabala in addition to surrounding the Katonga offices of opposition figure Dr Kizza Besigye.
- Close to the intended conference venue, barriers were in place on a blocked route for non-resident motorists amid thorough traffic checks.
Dozens of anti-riot police have been deployed in Busabala and at Katonga, the latest in a series of dramatic turns highlighting a persistent great divide in the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party.
FDC members claim police have since Monday night camped at Katonga, a hotspot for a parallel extraordinary delegates meeting planned for September 19 in Busabala by party chairman Wasswa birigwa.
“Unfortunately, police who said they will not provide protection have driven three trucks and blocked roads in Busabala. They have also surrounded our Katonga accreditation centre,” FDC spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda said of the Tuesday deployment which follows a September 18 High Court ruling against the conference.
Close to the intended conference venue, barriers were in place on a blocked route for non-resident motorists amid thorough traffic checks on Tuesday.
“We will be devising means of how we access Busabala or any other venue because delegates started arriving in Kampala yesterday,” Ssemujju told NTV Uganda.
At Katonga, a sizeable number of delegates from several parts of the country were able to access offices but pondered the next move.
“We’re waiting to see how we are going to travel or see what next because we don’t know what’s going on. We’re fearing the police,” FDC Western region chairman Sunday Katembeya said.
Anti-riot policemen arrive in Busabala on September 19, 2023 ahead of a party delegates conference planned by FDC national chairman Wasswa Birigwa. PHOTO/ISAAC KASAMANI
Ssemujju reiterated accusations that FDC President Patrick Amuriat and party secretary general Nathan Nandala Mafabi are “using police in continued attempts to capture and destroy the party to surrender it to Uganda’s President Museveni.”
“The FDC people want to rescue their party from Mafabi and Amuriat who are paid agents of President Museveni because how can they fear that party members are meeting,” he claimed in an interview.
However, Ssemujju emphasized that resources for Tuesday’s meeting were privately mobilized from local party loyalists and the diaspora.
Asked to explain their deployment, an on-scene policeman who appeared in television footage told journalists to find out from the Force’s spokesperson saying: “I cannot tell you why we are here. I’m not authorized to speak.”
Policemen remove their barrier to clear the road for an on-coming vehicle following their deployment in Busabala on September 19, 2023, ahead of a party delegates conference planned by FDC national chairman Wasswa Birigwa. PHOTO/ISAAC KASAMANI
Over two months ago, FDC descended into chaos with two rival factions volleying accusations that have since created a major split in what was once Uganda's leading opposition party.
As of September 19, a faction loyal to the Najjanankumbi establishment led by current party president Amuriat- is on course to holding a national delegates conference in October 2023.
