By Mulengera Reporters
DP President Norbert Mao, who is also Museveni’s Minister of Justice & Constitutional Affairs, has bragged that his is the only party that can live on and remain strong even after losing its founding President.
That, unlike DP which has lived on and remained strong almost 50 years after the murder of its charismatic leader Benedicto Kiwanuka, Mao doubted whether parties like NUP and NRM would move on and remain strong were President Museveni or Robert Kyagulanyi to die tonight.
“We are a party which doesn’t fear anything or anyone because there is nothing that we haven’t seen. We are the only party who lost our charismatic leader and remained strong 50 years later and still counting. I can dare say if Bobi Wine were to die tonight, all those so-called NUP flag bearers will decamp and print new campaign posters the morning after his burial because that will be the end of the party,” said Mao. “The same applies for NRM because I don’t think there will be anyone waking up every morning to go and work at Kyadondo the morning after President Museveni has died and been buried.”
In the same address, Mao called on the government to work towards ensuring that every youth who applies for a visa to travel abroad for kyeyo, including to Arab countries, gets their social media accounts assessed so that those who abuse the President on Tik Tok are blocked. Mao said that making responsible social media use a requirement for visa acquisition will enforce accountable use of social media platforms.
He despised NUP as a party that is just posturing because they have no explanation to give to those who are demanding to know why NRM candidates are being unopposed everywhere including in Buganda which they claim to be their stronghold. “They claim to be the leading opposition party with BBuganda being their stronghold yet their red posters have no presence nor visibility beyond Masaka Municipality.”
NO KIND WORDS FOR LUKWAGO:
Mao, whose wife Beatrice is campaigning to become the Lord Mayor for Kampala, said he was preparing for war with the crowd of Erias Lukwago who has been the incumbent since 2011.
He said he was determined to make the Kampala race hotter than that of the Presidency because the DP camp will be directing a lot of public scrutiny at Lukwago who he said has no moral authority to criticize government for spending hundreds of billions treating VIPs abroad because he too receives treatment in India. He demanded for a public debate between Lukwago and his squeeze Beatrice. He predicted that the incumbent Lord Mayor will emerge from such a public debate badly bruised.
Calling him Kampala’s ‘chief mourner’ who is good at public weeping, as opposed to being an effective Lord Mayor, Mao vowed to ride on Gen Salim Saleh’s hand written chit to ask the hard accountability questions to Erias Lukwago.
Mao said DP was determined to dedicate much of its financial resources (it’s going to be having more than Shs10bn from IPOD for the 2026 campaigns) on the Kampala race to ensure Beatrice, who he described as a consensus candidate for a lot of people, carries the day.
The DP boss praised Beatrice for being a good mobilizer who managed to fill Serena Conference Centre with supporters over the weekend on the same day Gen Museveni was celebrating his 81st birth day at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds.
He read out the venues at which Beatrice’s division-based campaign launching events will be staged in the coming days, including Nsambya Sharing Hall for Makindye, Old Kampala Grounds for Central Division, UMA Grounds for Nakawa and Pope Paul Memorial Centre for Rubaga division. Mao also prayed for continued quarrelling between the camps of NUP’s Ronald Balimwezo and PFF’s Erias Lukwago.
“They are both radicals and will be sharing their radical base which is good for the DP candidate who will be monopolizing the vote of the moderates and this is why as DP, we are certain that the 2026 race for Kampala is going to be full of surprises,” bragged Mao who cracked endless jokes as he addressed reporters at the party’s weekly news conference at Balintuma on Tuesday.
