Kampala, Uganda | By Michael Wandati | The Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party is witnessing divergent strategies as the Katonga and Najjanankumbi factions gear up for the 2026 General Election.
The Katonga faction has announced plans for village-level leadership elections scheduled for December 9, targeting new leaders across 36,000 villages nationwide.
According to Mr. Michael Kabaziguruka, the interim electoral commission chairperson for the Katonga faction, election materials have been dispatched to all villages.
The electoral process will progress from village to parish, sub-county, constituency, and district levels, culminating in a national delegates conference on March 15, 2024, as outlined in the roadmap based on resolutions from the September 19 delegates’ conference.
Mr. Kabaziguruka, during a press briefing in Kampala, urged FDC supporters to actively participate in the grassroots elections and ignore demobilization efforts by the Najjanankumbi team. He also welcomed suspended members, including Ms. Ingrid Turinawe, back into the fold, emphasizing the party’s inclusivity.
“I call upon all FDC faithful supporters countrywide to mobilise and turn up in huge numbers for the grassroots elections this Saturday, December 9,” Mr Kabaziguruka said during a press briefing held at their offices on Katonga Road in Kampala on Monday 4, December 2023.
“We are aware that there are efforts by the suspended members, Patrick Oboi Amuriat [FDC President] and Nandala Mafabi [party Secretary General], to sabotage the elections. We assure our supporters that we are in charge and they should participate in the elections,” Mr Kabaziguruka added.
The FDC Katonga faction’s September 19 delegates’ conference had suspended key leaders, including FDC president Patrick Oboi Amuriat, Secretary General Nandala Mafabi, and treasurer Geoffrey Ekanya. An interim committee, headed by Mr. Erias Lukwago, was appointed.
Concurrently, the Najjanankumbi faction is engaged in a nationwide mobilization drive to recruit new party members and strengthen the party for the upcoming election.
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According to party spokesperson Mr. John Kikonyogo, sub-regional conferences are being conducted to equip leaders with mobilization skills and encourage recruitment.
“We have embarked on sub-regional conferences. We want to equip our leaders with mobilisation skills and even ask them to recruit members and future candidates,” the party spokesperson, Mr John Kikonyogo, told journalists at the party headquarters.
The party is also preparing for a National Council meeting on December 15 to discuss the current state of the party, following the contentious election that saw Mr. Patrick Oboi Amuriat and Mr. Nathan Nandala Mafabi retaining their seats as party president and secretary-general, respectively.
“We are going to all regions in Uganda and when we finish them, we shall sit at our headquarters to analyse what will come out of them and we move forward,” he said.
