The National Chairperson, Ambassador Wasswa Birigwa, organized a delegate’s conference, but Nathan Nandala Mafabi, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party Secretary General, declined to provide funding because it was not a party meeting.
On August 24, 2023, Birigwa sent a letter to the Secretary-General demanding more than Shillings 638.2 million to support a conference of delegates slated for September 19th, 2023.
Birigwa anticipated that the meeting would draw 1970 attendees, including 1560 delegates and 410 other visitors.
On September 2, 2023, Nandala responded with a letter rejecting the party chairman’s proposal.
According to Nandala, Birigwa published an advertisement in the newspapers calling for an extraordinary meeting of the delegates “without the knowledge of any party organ, including the Secretary-General, who is the Principal Accounting Officer of the Party under Article 28 (4) (b) (i) and Secretary to the National Delegates Conference in accordance with Article 28 (4) (b) (iii).”
Additionally, according to Nandala, the notification was published without the consent of the Treasurer General, who oversees the party’s finances, and the President, who serves as the organization’s chief executive officer.
Nandala claims that it appears Dr. Kiiza Besigye and 17 additional party members, who have previously held press conferences at Besigye’s Katonga Office and Fairway Hotel, respectively, are following Dr. Besigye’s directive.
These individuals include party vice president Erias Lukwago, deputy secretary general Harold Kaija, and party spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda.
“Katonga is not a part of the FDC that the Chairman must use to carry out its resolutions.
This clearly demonstrates that in your opinion—which is contrary to the FDC Constitution—the organizers of those two press conferences are above the National Council,” writes Nandala.
He also points out that the party chairman, who has held the position for eight years, had plenty of time to call a delegate meeting but instead chose to do so as his term is coming to an end.
“In violation of Article 28 (1) (b) (iii) of the FDC Constitution, you are fostering discord and carrying out the roadmap from the Katonga and Fairway Press Conferences at this crucial time,” Insisted Nandala.
He claims that due to the fact that the summoned delegates gathering is not a party meeting and the party’s financial struggles, the party working committee decided that the party could not support the emergency delegates conference.
Because the conference “is not budgeted for and you (Birigwa) have no authority to cause liability to the party by claims of third parties,” he contends that this is the case.
The FDC has been involved in strife for more than two months, with senior party figures publicly hurling fit after fit.
The claim that Nandala pulled money into the party from the ruling government without being properly held accountable for it is what started the uproar.
The accusation has pitted Dr. Kiiza Besigye, the party’s founding president, Eng. Patrick Oboi Amuriat, and their supporters against Nandala.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, the party’s national chairman will speak to the media on the future of the delegate conference.