By Our Reporter
During his appearance on NBS’ Morning Breeze program this Monday morning, Butambala MP Muwanga Kivumbi (a diehard Bobi Wine supporter) directed lots of hostilities to his DP President Norbert Mao. Kivumbi accused Mao of many things including wildly accusing him of being a stooge that Mr. Museveni is currently using to kill off the political momentum that the Bobi Wine possible candidature has created across the country. The outspoken Butambala MP claimed that even when DP officially claims to be working (under DP Bloc) to galvanize support for Bobi, Mao is actually resolved to very soon announce his 2021 presidential candidature so that he can compete with Bobi. Kivumbi said this is bound to create confusion and put Hon. Kyagulanyi Sentamu in a huge disarray. He added that these were not innocent actions by Mao but a project that is being sponsored by President Museveni to isolate Bobi.
MAO FIGHTS BACK
But in a phone interview with Mulengera news, Mao has dismissed Kivumbi as an envious man who always fights him “even when I have never said anything negative about him.” Reminded that this isn’t the first time Kivumbi has attacked him, Mao said: “You ought to put that question to him because I personally don’t know why he always attacks me. It’s certainly not because we fought over a woman because we certainly can’t meet in the same arena because his women can’t be my type.” Saying he has always driven to Butambala to campaign for Kivumbi, Mao said he has failed to understand why Kivumbi always targets him. “Even politically we don’t play in the same league because there is no way somebody like myself who plays in the Premier League can be dragged in the mud of people playing in the village League,” Mao said in a bid to show his contempt for Muwanga Kivumbi. “We all believe in the idea of the opposition coalition and fronting one candidate against the NRM. I’m happy my efforts to re-unite DP have paid off and the party is now 98% united and Kivumbi belongs to the 2% that is continuing uncoordinated remarks. He just gets excited by a media appearance forgetting that some of us are not going to coalesce around any candidate because of blackmail and intimidation. If you have your candidate, you have to persuade me because it has to be a coalition of values as opposed to candidates being imposed on others.” Mao also plunged into history of the anti-Museveni struggle saying that northerners have paid the greater price than the people in the south. “Nobody should continue thinking that we northerners are meant to be voting machines for the candidates from the south. Our people in the entire north comprising of West Nile, Acholi, Lango, Karamoja and Teso have me Norbert Mao as their candidate and they shouldn’t be taken for fools anymore. In 1996 we voted for Semogerere yet his own people in the south didn’t elect him. People in the south have actually delayed the revolution because they thought Museveni was fighting northerners yet it’s now clear the man is fighting democracy and Uganda,” Mao explained. “There are four actors that have to be part of the coalition talks. These are Norbert Mao, Mugisha Muntu, Bobi Wine and Col. Besigye. These are things any serious analyst should be reflecting upon rather than insulting a heavyweight like Mao. For instance if it turns out true that Muntu has a deal with all FDC MPs to defect to his party in last year of Parliament, what happens? How do we go about a scenario like that to make sure a party like UPC doesn’t assume opposition leadership in Parliament? Those are things serious minds should be reflecting upon because the gimmick of blackmailing Mao won’t work because he isn’t a push over because in 2011 when I stood, I pushed Col Besigye to number three in Acholi and our people are not going to voting machines anymore.” Mao said as DP President he has done everything to reach out and accommodate Muwanga Kivumbi but the man has always been elusive. “I wish him well always and that’s why we made him chairman of UYD re-union but he only pays back by fighting me,” Mao said adding that he has become used to such disappointments. “He must be among the opportunists that profess DP simply because they need its popularity to become MPs and earn a salary. He is part of the politics of the meal card because there are such leaders in DP who like using the party ticket like a meal card to become MPs and begin earning a salary.”
BLAMES NBS
The DP President, who between October 2019 & March 2020 will be seeking fresh mandate as party leader, also didn’t spare the NBS TV program on which Kivumbi was allowed a platform to demonize him. He specifically scorned its moderator Simon Kaggwa Njala contemptuously describing him as “a biased man who is badly looking for the meal card just like those MPs he has been hosting on his show.” Specifically, this is what
a free-speaking Mao said about the quality of Morning Breeze: “The problem by the way is bigger and it’s a media problem. That NBS program is a problem in itself because the host is not impartial because he is always moderating in a way that will bring him closer to the meal card. The program has low levels of analysis, no facts and people are simply allowed to allege things as the host plays along. In fact, the NBS management should urgently rename it the NBS Kimeeza so that you invite everybody to come and say what they want and it’s upon the audience to sieve through.” Mao said that however much haters like Kivumbi will use NBS to demonize him, he won’t denounce his right to be a presidential candidate in 2021 “because I’m a leader of DP, a party that has a right to propagate its own ideas to the people of Uganda.” Mao said it shouldn’t be strange to anyone that a leader of a big party like DP is unwilling to rule himself out of any election contest. He said his decision is open to taking any direction depending on how well or poorly talks aimed at a joint opposition candidate will end. “I won’t accept that blackmail and intimidation of being called a spoiler like they did in 2011. Standing for elections is like World Cup because everybody wants the trophy and you can’t call other teams spoilers,” Mao said when pushed about his 2021 candidature. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
