Whatever is happening to FDC affects us, says Gen Muntu

You were president of FDC. What do you make of the ongoing conflicts in the party?
Yes, I am a product of FDC but what is going on in FDC is a reflection of what a regime that wants to hang on in power does. Such a regime would create confusion within people in different parties where we see different party members coming up with different accusations and allegations against others, leading to conflicts. But it is upon these people who have been infiltrated to determine the fate of their parties.

The regime which creates conflicts and infiltrates organisations; not only in politics but also in the social [space] uses a system that is autocratic… It is [because of] an individual, and that is President Museveni, who wants to hang onto power.
There is no party in this world which has never had differences. The only challenge is lack of capacity within FDC to manage this internal conflict. If they had spent time to learn and apply leadership skills, it would have helped them out of this mess. 
I can only give them two options; one is to sit down and resolve this issue through dialogue. If that fails, they can go into a transparent election and that will solve the entire contradiction going on.

Should they fail to come up with these two strategies to solve the conflicts they will have no option but to continue fighting. One faction will definitely emerge victorious and eventually take-over the power which may lead into its eventual fall.
These conflicts were there during my regime but we managed to use our skills to resolve them. By the time they came up in 2017 to implode, we had concealed it for some time.

So, how did you resolve…
It was all in the manner that we handled it. Our conflict, our major issue was over strategies that can be used to assume power. Our friends believed in application of defiance while for us we believed in creating grassroots system, to start taking power from grassroot level thereby denying Museveni majority members of parliament. Afterwards, we take on the country.
There were chances of utilising both strategies but we never utilised the leadership skills on using both and this continued bringing up fighting. Our friends defeated us but we did not rapture but rather organised a peaceful exit after the elections. We traversed the country, we came up with a report which I personally presented to Mr Amuriat and afterwards left the party.
We promised FDC that we will not provoke or attack or undermine them, and indeed for the five and a half years we have spent we have never provoked, attacked or undermined the FDC.

The ongoing impasse is related to mole accusations. You were once called a mole. You told the country in 2017 that time will tell who the mole is. Is this the time you predicted?
All these allegations being thrown at people for being moles are not new. I was called a mole but I was not. I know what it means and that’s why I don’t follow what is thrown at others. We will have to make some conclusions in the future.
You can know when someone is in a scheme. If you don’t have video or documentary evidence, you cannot tell the public but actions reveal. 

We don’t have a party that has never had internal conflicts. But whatever happens sometimes explodes. Even in the Movement one day you will see things exploding. I keep watching. FDC’s conflicts will only be solved depending on how they will manage them.
We are telling you about the country’s crisis. There are many things. I know a lot of things. President Museveni has made Ugandans hopeless and he will do whatever it takes to ensure that even the opposition, where the people had hopes, also takes them in the same direction of hopelessness. For FDC as I said, it’s a matter of three months and everything will be revealed. 

We saw one of your members, Paul Mwiru exiting ANT to the National Unity Platform recently. Does that mean that you are losing out as well?
Mwiru’s exit from ANT to NUP is not a problem to me. The problem is when you have phony and deceptive actors... And it’s from here that I want to implore Ugandans to interest themselves in funding opposition political parties to ensure that they remain independent.
You find Ugandans contributing to wedding ceremonies, burials, but living the politics that build their country alone. If you leave this to the international actors, for example, political parties may become vulnerable to international actors. They will start working on the conditions which the international actors give. 
So I implore Ugandans to interest themselves and invest in politics because it is only politics which determines their everyday life. If the politics is good, everything will be good.
Having a joint opposition in 2026 will depend on what we do now. We have to focus on ensuring that we are stable because the coalition that would be made or built really depends on the components that will be formed in an overall stable manner.

Back to the FDC. The conflicting parties blame the existence of Katonga and Najanankumbi power centres. Is this the problem according to you?
Even in our time existed we used to have both offices but the issue is the skills used to solve the conflicts. And that’s why I can say our separation with FDC was good and I am glad that we have never had any conflict for the five and a half years since we left.
And let’s talk more about the moles. If we were moles as we were branded there would be no way the regime would accept us to lose the [FDC] elections in 2017 because we had everything. We could manipulate the results, but for me I am a straight-forward man. 
I am an honest man. Within six months after elections, we went across the country and consulted and came back and wrote a report and took it to Mr Amuriat and left the party peacefully. The issue of calling me [a mole], intelligence agencies’ elements in the opposition jumped over it but it was all a lie.
 
Based on what is happening in FDC, can the opposition be united in 2026?
That will depend on what we do now. We have to focus on ensuring that we be stable, because any coalition that will built will depend on the components that will be formed; like a table cannot stand on its own when one of the legs is weak. 
That is why I say that whatever is happening to FDC affects us [all] because the masses are losing hope in the opposition whom they had hopes in of changing their country.

You worked with Mr Nandala and Mr Amuriat for a long time. Do you think, from what you know of them, that they can accept a bribe [as alleged]?
As I said, for now I cannot conclude on who is right, who is wrong, a mole or not a mole. Right now we are in the building phase.  I may make a statement which will sink the party now. Let’s wait for November, then we shall either be doing a post-mortem or blaming the party leadership because we shall have known the truth.
For now, I can only say that regimes like the one of General Museveni will always do whatever it takes to infiltrate political parties. For myself, it was the Crime Intelligence who supplied false news that 
I am a mole and some opportunistic party members jumped on that and spread the false information.

Thank you for sparing your time to speak to us.
You are welcome!