NEWS EDITOR
OPPOSITION Democratic Party President General Hon. Norbert Mao has vowed to lead all party members country wide to fight and defeat a clique of politicians hiding in fighting for Buganda but with an intention of killing this National political party.
“That bunch is sectarian minded, they are tribalists who don’t care about taking over power in Uganda but instead go for self praising in Buganda.” Mao struck saying, “As a result, they have become a spoiler for Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi because now I hear on radios, people say, ‘When we go for those meetings, they are only in Luganda.’ Now since they have started the tribalism talk, let’s talk about it, me am not afraid.”
Speaking at a DP weekly press conference yesterday, a tough and determined speaking Mao said, “This is my manifesto and Testament. If I were to die today, these are the words you must remember.”
“Uganda needs to renegotiate it’s constitution. And as DP, we have got to dedicate ourselves to building a party which is National in character. Those who bent on dividing the party along lines of their personal interests, will be decisively confronted and defeated.” Stated Mao, adding, “In the same way that DP leadership confronted and unmasked Kabaka Yekka (KY) in the 1960s. Our generation will fearlessly face and confront descendants of Kabaka Yekka, the likes of Hon. Sseggona, Hon. Nambooze, Hon. Muwanga Kivumbi and all those who gathered last Friday in Lubaga for a circus meeting.”
“Like wools in sheep skin, these retrogressive elements come in various guises but they will never deceive us. The descendants and fascists minded operatives will be fought and defeated.” Furious Mao said vowing, “The banner of truth and justice will never be surrendered into the hands of reactionary forces that seek to subvert the party and to reduce it to a small minded outfit serving narrow interests as opposed to the founding vision of the party. That is my last will and testament if die today.”
Chairman Mao was reacting to a meeting that sat on Friday and filled NEC positions which he reffered to as rubbish.
In that meeting, the following were elected: Hon. Medard Lubega Sseggona (Secretary General) replacing late Matia Birekerawo Nsubuga, Matia Lwanga Bwanika (National Chairman) replacing Ambassador Kezaala Beswale, Hon. Mary Babirye Kabanda (National treasurer) replacing late Issa Kikungwe, Patrick Katuramu (deputy treasurer), Alex Kiwanuka representing Busoga region and Racheal Kagoya (deputy women leader) replacing late Hon. Susan Namaganda.
“These people are like cockroaches, they thrive in the darkness. The only way to find cockroaches is to bring light to them. So we are bringing light to them. Some of them are crooks, some have a lot of problems, we are now going to bring their issues. All their dirty linean we are going to hang them on very high wires because that is what they want.” Tough Mao said.
He told media that, “They have called me corrupt, as if I am the final signatory of the party. I am not. The treasurer is the accounting officer and she is their fellow MP. We have never received a letter asking for accountability.”
“They talk about transparency, was their meeting transparent? How do you get a court order, and instead of serving the Party, you take it to political masqueraders like Lukwago and Sseggona?” Asked Mao.
He has dustbined the Friday meeting abd said, “We have written to Electoral Commission distancing ourself, as DP from Friday meeting and everything that transpired. DP National Council has never convened, what you saw on Friday was just a meeting of political masqueraders who have on many attempts tried to disorganise DP but we have kept on confronting and defeating them.”
“The leaders of that group which gathered in Lubaga on Friday are masqueraders who only want to use DP, serve a narrow vision. The same way that Abu Mayanja used DP to serve his narrow vision in 1960s. So today I have started the most difficult conversation that Uganda needs and I am not going to stop. Am even taking it outside this room to the rest of the country” Vowed Hon. Mao.
He noted that unfortunately, “They are now dragging a very young promising leader in the name of Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi into their Provincial politics, reducing him from a National leader to a Provincial leader. That will be tragic!”
“I hear them every time they are addressing a press conference, they say, ‘We are fighting Mao because he doesn’t support Hon. Kyagulanyi.’ But Hon. Kyagulanyi is not a DP member as you know. Our talks with him, are bilateral between DP as an organisation and him as an independent candidate.” He said, adding, “But they are dragging him in and in the process, they are making the rest of Uganda to start wondering whether Kyagulanyi is the candidate for the whole of Buganda or a candidate for the region.”
“They have managed to confuse everybody else. Now they have captured the CBS radio station. I have been not invited also to plead my case. But am being convicted every Saturday without a fair hearing on CBS, Kabaka’s radio. Am being hanged.” Said Mao, asking, “Do these people have ambitions to see DP in power? Obviously not! They only want to be re elected to Parliament.” He said.
Mao says, the likes of Nambooze, Mpuuga and Sseggona are only contented to win elective positions in Buganda but not targeting Uganda.
“Some of them they have started building big apartments they don’t have money to finish, started building big hotels and they don’t have money to finish them. They must go back to Parliament to continue earning 35M a month in order to finish their hotels.” He stated.
MAO’S STATEMENT ON PROVINCIAL VS NATIONAL POLITICS
DP was formed to fight injustice. I know many young people are no longer interested in history.
But before 1962 Independence, DP was already in the struggles for power in Uganda. And there were always two forces, the National forces that wanted to build a National party and the Provincial forces.
At that time, there was a Katikkiro called Kintu a very polarising figure. When DP was founded, many people perceived it as a party that was largely to seek redress for the grievances of the Catholics.
Now at this table where we are seated, I am the only Catholic actually. Imam Makumbi is a Moslem, Mwesigwa is a protestant, Dr. Mayambala is a protestant. We even have Seventh day adventists and others.
That means, DP has outgrown it’s cradle. Just like Islam started in Middle East, but now there are more Muslims outside Saudi Arabia and elsewhere.
At that time there was a young man called Abu Kakyama Mayanja (late). He was expelled from Makerere and went to study in Cambridge University. He was received with a lot of pomp and celemony as a promising National leader for Uganda from Buganda. But later, he lost opportunity because he reduced his vision when in alliance with Dr. Apollo Milton Obote, he became a key mouth-piece of Kabaka Yekka (KY).
So, Abu Mayanja lost his chance to be President of Uganda simply because he reduced his vision to a region.
PROVINCIAL POLITICIAN ABU MAYANJA DEAL WITH OBOTE TO FIGHT DP
Mao said: Abu Kakyama Mayanja is the one as you know, who took Milton Obote to meet the Kabaka. This is when Milton Obote made all the empty promises that people always make, just like President Museveni has been always making to Buganda.
Indeed, Kabaka Yekka was a reaction to Bendictor Kiwanuka’s victory in Buganda. That election was boycotted. People went to Parliament with 30 votes, 45 votes, because there was an order from the Kingdom that there should be no body participating in that election organised by the British to prepare Uganda for Independence.
Was that love for DP? Because of blackmail, people forced a false choice, that do we choose the Kabaka or DP? But you can’t put such a choice to any right thinking Muganda. How can you for instance say, that is the choice which led to Namugongo? That should you choose between the Kabaka or your religious belief? That is the choice which should never be imposed on the people here.
I also have my traditional leader but I will never be forced by any body to choose between my traditional leader and my party.
My traditional leader must be a traditional leader for every body. FDC, DP, NRM, Independents, that is what makes somebody to be above politics.
Ben Kiwanuka when he returned from his studies and from fighting in the 2nd World War, he sent a clear message and said, “Leave our King out of your politics. Don’t use our King in your politics”.
That is what led to the 1966 Buganda Crisis. In 1961 when Ben Kiwanuka was elected, he was definately seen as one elected by the minority in Buganda but technically, he had the MPs to form a government. UPC was no. 2 and now decided to work with Abu Mayanja and Kabaka Yekka and they formed an alliance. They demanded that there should be a second election in Uganda. This is the injustice done to DP. In Kenya and Tanzania there were only one election. Jomo Kenyatta won in Kenya and was handed over the instruments of independence.
The same applies to Julius Nyerere in Tanzania. That is why we have Madaraka day in Kenya, the day when internal self government was declared. While here, we had two elections. Ofcourse the story of Kabaka Yekka and UPC is now well known. I don’t need to go into that.
MASQUERADERS POLITICALLY KILLING HON. KYAGULANYI
Chairman Mao said: In 1980, the same masqueraders again erupted and claimed to be DP and again Abu Mayanja was there.
This time he came after the fall of Idi Amin as a DP. Alongside him, there were people who actually did not believe in DP but they had their grievances with Obote. They didn’t believe in the ideology and values of DP. They included Kisamba Mugerwa, who even after Dr. Ssemogerere left, for him he remained with Museveni.
Because for him he told Dr. Ssemogerere, ‘Our problem was Obote, now that he has gone, I don’t have to come back to DP.’ They were using DP as a placenta. You know a placenta has only one job, to deliver a baby. And after the baby is born the placenta is thrown into the incinerator. The same Abu Mayanja was there.
There were people like Kitaka Gaweera, ofcourse we can count Prof. Gilbert Bukenya, the late Kafumbe Mukasa, Edward Ssekandi and many others.These are the people who only claim to be DP, for a season. I call them masqueraders because they don’t believe in DP.Now we see people who are like them again.
MASQUERADERS DECEIVING BUGANDA ON FEDERO
Hitting more this Buganda clique, Mao noted that: They are deceiving the rest of the people here that they are fighting for Buganda issues (Ensonga za Buganda omuli Federo).
Go and open the Hansard, how many times have they talked about the five Buganda major issues (Ensonga ssemasonga)?
Has any one of them ever even moved any motion? They haven’t. They are a bunch of masqueraders who are lying. And some of them, to be honest, they may not even be Baganda in the real sense of the word. They may be in Buganda like me, but am not a Muganda.
Just like in Germany, the non Germany were the one who were the most radical in supporting Adolf Hitler. Even here, some of them if you research on them, ethnically they don’t belong to Buganda. They are just like me.
They are from Buganda but not Baganda. Just like you can be from Acholi, but not an Acholi.
Unfortunately, what is happening in DP is a contradiction of the Party’s National vision.
In Mbale, we vowed to restore the, DP of Ben Kiwanuka, from Kisoro to Kabong, from Kapchorwa to Kasese, that is the DP were want to build.
But now you hear people say, ‘I can’t be led by an Acholi’. Have they read the DP constitution? Their DP is not the one am leading. The DP am leading has a Constitution, and it has a stated goal you build for Uganda a government with a foundation of truth and justice. Do they just want to dominate politics in Buganda or one day they want to lead Ugandan?
Because I am beginning to get very mixed signals. I think, their main goal is to use DP to dominate the political arena, in Buganda but not to win power, in Uganda.
Because to win power in Buganda, you must go everywhere within the boarders of Uganda snd you must go with a message which resonates with the other Ugandans.
MESSAGE TO KYAGULANYI ON POLITICAL CREEPING PLANTS (EBIBOWABOWA)
Refering to a clique of secretarian and tribalists politicians in Buganda as Ebibowabowa, Hon. Mao said, “Am very sorry for my young brother Robert Kyagulanyi, that he has now found creeping plants on him, the one that are called ‘Ebibowabowa’ in Luganda.”
Mao said: Ebibowabowa don’t have the spine to stand on their own and sunlight. They must creep on a big tree in order to attract some rays of the sun.
That is why am saying, am very sorry for my young brother. And Ebibowabowas are everywhere not only in Buganda. Hon. Tinkasiimire is one one Ebibowabowa, sijui Hon. Mbwatekamwa, all those.
If you are a true leader, you must not encourage Bibowabowas. Let’s look at the key actors among the Ebibowabowas!
These are the people who were UYD. Medard Sseggona, Mathias Mpuuga, ofcourse Betty Nambooze was not in UYD she joined DP after we rescued her from a prison sentence for corruption. Muwanga Kivumbi, Moses Kasibante, Matia Lwanga Bwanika, Kato Lubwama and FDC’s Hon. Ssemujju Nganda.
MISUSING NKOBAZAMBOGO
Mao said: Now these are people, after UYD, they became very key actors in Nkobazambogo which I promoted as then Makerere University Guild president. Nkobazambogo started from MULUSA (Makerere University Luweero Students Association).
And I was the one who launched MULUSA. Out of that, grew Nkobazambogo whose main role was to entrench the culture among the young generation which was a good thing. I remember they used to bring trainers from the Kingdom to talk to young people.
I attended one session and I almost died of laughters because they were trying to explain names that should be used for His Majesty the King of Buganda. Ofcourse they were saying Musota, Ccuucu, Magulunnyondo, etc and the general principle is to describe His Majesty, you must use things that are fierce and feared by everybody.
I remember one young man put up his hand, because those were the days Aids was feared so much as he said, “Can we refer to him as Siliimu?”, and thee trainer said, no no.
Many of them were appointed to the Kingdom government, with that aura of being Bakungu, abebitiibwa and with a lot of airtime on radio, they now came into the political arena and dupe the public that they are the people who are finally going to sort out the issues of Buganda in the political arena.
‘WHY EBIBOWABOWA SUPPORT BESIGYE WHO HATES KINGDOMS’
DP president General Mao who had no kind words said: Indeed one of the reasons why these bibowabowa supported Rtd. Col. Kizza Besigye was they believed that he is the one who can work for Buganda. I remember asking them in a radio talkshow, ‘That man you are supporting doesn’t believe in the Kings and traditional leaders. He doesn’t have one in Kigezi. Have you ever heard a King in Kigezi? If that is your argument, then you rather support me because me i have a King in Acholi.”
So when I come here and I say, Ssaabasajja awangaale, it means I also fight for my own.” I know the one here is very strong, so if we protect him, mine will also be safe. That is my logic.
But Besigye, according to the Army Council reports we have, he even opposed the return of the Buganda Kingdom.
So I asked them, ‘Don’t you have another reason why you don’t support me?’ Because that is the reason which sounds good, but it is not the real reason.
SECTARIANISM DRIVING PROVINCIAL POLITICS – MAO
He said: I want to state here that the issues of Buganda are important to Uganda because Buganda is part of Uganda. Just like the issues of any other part of Uganda, should be taken seriously because, we are what constitutes Uganda.
So we now have in Uganda, a push and pull. Do we have enough reasons to stay in Uganda or we have reasons to pull away from Uganda? The dividing line in DP is between two visions.
There is the National vision which I lead and the Provincial vision which is led by the other group. And DP can not continue with those two contradictory visions.
One of them must be dominant. So either DP will become completely a Provincial party or DP must become a National party the way it has always been intended to be. And that is why me am not fighting individuals, am fighting for an idea. Do we have a National or a Provincial party?
And DP can not exist partly Provincial and partly National. Our leaders from Buganda are being castigated daily, why are you standing with Mao. They are standing with DP. I tell you, one day, the National Treasurer was supervising some worker at the new party offices on Balintuma road and she posted a photo of Facebook. One distinguished member of Parliament Hon. Betty Nambooze Bakireke in boxed Owek. Babirye Kabanda and said, “Owek. Kabanda, you are now an enemy of Buganda. Why do you do things which make Mao good and successful?”
Ladies and gentlemen, these are the battles we are fighting in DP. So if someone from Buganda wants to lead Uganda, is that how you should approach politics?
For me i need votes from every one, even from NRM. Because that is how I can lead Uganda. But you hear their rhetoric on Facebook, “Sijui Banyarwanda.”
We know the Banyarwanda who are called Musoke, Kizito, Lubega, Nsubuga, Mukasa. These are our relatives, these are our wives. So are we going to take that line of politics?
We must talk about these issues because it used to be, ‘Acholi killed people, now we are being told actually that it is Museveni who killed people.
So, why were the Acholi being blamed innocently? This difficult conversation even applies to Bunyoro. It applies to the Yira Republic (Kasese).
Robert Rukumbuka (who attended yesterday presser) spent 20 months in prison arrested by the army being accused of leading a rebellion on Congo. Can you imagine!
Now he can not go outside Kampala and Wakiso and his king the Mumbere. So am very pleased with what is happening in DP because it is finally happening to a vital part of the body called Uganda. Let’s assume DP is an organ of the body Uganda, and it has a problem. Isn’t that Uganda problem? So, Ugandans are now debating DP because they have realized, it isn’t all about the presidency of DP, it is bigger and we must take it to its logical conclusion.
So, if Ugandans are not feeling comfortable in Uganda, We need a national reflection on ways to bind the Nation’s many open wounds. Every part of Uganda here has suffered. In Luweero triangle, Kitgum, Kasese there are hundreds of bodies of people massacred, we have Muslims murdered in Mbarara. Every part of Uganda has suffered and we must have a National conversation.
We have Mukula, where people were simply cooked in a train wagons and elections will not solve these problems. We need truth and reconciliation as a basis for justice.
WHY I COMMAND MASSIVE DP SUPPORT IN BUGANDA – MAO
He declared that: I have the support of the majority of DP members including in Buganda. If we are to hold a DP delegates conference for Buganda, I would win it, hands down against any body. Because the majority of people here are simply silent. They have been suppressed. The way Kabaka Yekka suppressed every body, people’s banana plantations were beaten down, Dr. Ssemogerere once told me he car was ambushed he had to flee on foot. And more importantly in 1996 when Dr. Ssemogerere stood up to challenge Museveni, he never got votes here. It is people who could not understand his mother tongue, who voted him. He got 98% in Acholi and Westnile and 80% in Teso. So there is something which is being pursued using DP which we don’t understand. Those who support me all over Uganda, believe in my vision to reconcile the party and we have tried.
We opened up the gates of DP, but instead those who we invited to come and reconcile, I didn’t know they were fighting for small positions, positions of Acting Chairman, of Acting secretary General…I thought we were in a revolution to remove Museveni.
When we formed a DP BLOC, I thought we were getting stronger to kick out Museveni. I didn’t know I was the one in power they worked to kick out.
The supporters of the party and its members, believe in us and the team I lead, because they want us to rebuild the party grassroots structures and rebrand it so that it can compete effectively for national leasership. DP can not form a government by supporting another candicate who is not a DP member. These are temporary measures that we do in a coalition.
A coalition government will not be a DP government but it has got to be negotiated.
I have made it clear, what is at stake. The stake is a soul of DP. Will DP be a Provincial or a national party? So this struggle in DP is not about Nobert Mao. Actually am already safe because every body knows what I have been fighting for. Even if I lose, it’s better people know what I have been fighting for. Am fighting for DP to be a National party capable of winning power in Uganda. Not a party which is provincial to be used by a bunch of subcontractors.
But more importantly, we are fighting for the future of Uganda.
WHOSE PARTY IS IT ANYWAY?
Mao said: I wrote a document in 2005 titled, ‘Whose party is it anyway’.
All Ugandans have spilled blood for DP. When you go to the west, you find the Banyimas, Enganzi Ankole the late Kabeiheho, Buyindo who was murdered in cold blood, come here, Ben Kiwanuka, Andrew Kayiira, thousands murdered in Luweero, West Nile there’s Martin Okello and Oda. Move to the East you find Alex who was left alone when everybody had crossed to UPC in the 1960s. He was then leader of opposition and murdered in 1979.
They were being echoed by Kabaka Yekka, echoed by UPC, the way right now we are being echoed by their descendants. NRM has also joined the fight. The other day we were attacked at the office, the police was there doing nothing, simply ushering in the hooligans. So now, we are in a very comfortable position. Because when you are surrounded, you can fire in any direction, you will kill and enemy. There is no better position in a way than to be surrounded. You don’t have to aim. So right now, we don’t have to aim. We just have to fire in any direction.
WE’LL SORT OUT OURSELVES WITH COURT
DP President said: After Mbale delegates conference, we got about 40 cases. Those who took us to court failed to prove that our team was un constitutionally elected. These are the people who started the same fight against Ssebaana Kizito.
Actually, one of them should have been president of DP between Lulume Bayiga, Nambooze and Lordmayor Lukwago. One of the three should have been the party president but as usual when you trade your short term interests for long term interests, that is what happens. It is called the Essau syndrome. In the Bible, Essau was supposed to inherite as a heir to his father but one day he felt so hungry and asked his brother for soup in exchange of his inheritance. This message doesn’t only go to Lukwago but even to all those other masqueraders, to achieve long term interests, you must sacrifice.
I became DP President because I sacrificed by short term interests for long term interests. Just like now, those who are eating pork and beer, will continue being tenants while those saving, can easily become landlords.
These masqueraders are eating their eggs instead of letting them hatch and get soup.
Bwanika said, ‘sikulemberwa mucoori.’ That he can’t be led by an Acholi. As heavy weight, I don’t fight feather weight. They are sectarian. They formed team Mulamwa, TJ, Ssuubi etc. They were defeated.
Mao quoted Abed Bwanika having said during a Friday meeting that, “We the Baganda have a package and inside that package there is someone called Robert Kyagulanyi and we are aggrieved because of all the parties in IPOD NRM is led by M7 a Munyankore, FDC is led by Amuriat from Teso, Asuman Basalirwa from Busoga leeds JEEMA, Jimmy Akena of UPC from Lango, DP is led by Norbert Mao from Acholi.”
Do you need any further evidence what those people are driving? Is it about fairness in Uganda? Is it about equal opportunities in the economics? So there are those who blindly think DP is a party for one region. I like people who are honest like Dr. Abed Bwanika. He said it. Others just clapped in support.
When we receive the alleged court order, we shall know what to do with it. We haven’t received the court order. When we get proper documents from court, we will know what to do. He bashed Counsel Sam Muyizzi, the DP legal advisor for instructing himself as the Party Advocate saying he is in a wrong office.
“As DP, we have never instructed you to be our lawyers. On February I ordered our Secretary General Dr. Siranda to inform court that as DP, we instructed counsel Ssemuyaba tuguwadde counsel Justice Ssemuyaba to be our Advocate and he has been our Advocate since 2009. A party legal advisor can only be a party advocate on getting instructions.
National legal advisor we will face the National Council and answer why he chose to serve two parties, DP and those accusing us because we see him as having conflict of interest.
