By Aggrey Baba
Mityana South MP and Deputy Legal Advisor of the Democratic Party (DP), Hon. Richard Lumu, has come out guns blazing, accusing top party officials of turning the once-respected DP into a private shop run by a few selfish individuals.
In a strongly-worded press statement issued on Monday, Lumu, who is also an aspirant for the position of Secretary General, said what is happening in the party is nothing short of a silent coup aimed at killing internal democracy.
“You can’t claim to be democratic when you’re acting like a monarch,” he said.
According to him, the ongoing preparations for the National Delegates Conference slated to take place in Mbarara are being handled in secrecy, with no transparency, no participation, and no fairness.
He claimed the process has been hijacked by a few individuals operating outside the party’s legal and moral framework. “What we are seeing is an orchestrated and unconstitutional takeover of internal processes,” Lumu warned.
He also raised serious concern about what he described as exorbitant and illegal nomination fees being charged to members who want to stand for positions in the party. Lumu says these fees were not agreed upon by the National Executive Committee (NEC) and are not found anywhere in the DP Constitution.
He accuses the National Organizing Secretary of colluding with others to commercialize leadership, turning the whole exercise into a business deal.
“Are we now selling leadership positions to the highest bidder?” This move blocks genuine leaders, especially the youth and grassroots members who may not have money but have the heart and vision to serve.”
He demanded immediate accountability from the Party Treasurer, asking, “Who paid? How much? Were receipts issued? Where is the money being kept, and under what authority?” Insisting that the Democratic Party should be led by those who serve, not those who pay.
Lumu also decried the lack of transparency in the nomination process, particularly the refusal to grant all aspirants access to nomination documents, saying that this lack of openness casts doubt on the entire exercise and creates suspicion that something is being hidden.
“Why are they scared of scrutiny?” he questioned, demanding that the Party Secretariat immediately release all nomination documents for public inspection and allow any fraudulent submissions to be challenged fairly.
The MP added that the National Executive Committee, which is supposed to act as the administrative brain of the party, has not been convened to approve the nomination fees, endorse the electoral roadmap, ratify the delegate list, or even vet the electoral committee.
He described the current situation as “governance by fiat,” where a few people make decisions on behalf of the entire party without any legal or constitutional backing.
“That’s not democracy, but betrayal,” he added.
In what many may find shocking, Lumu said some of the people contesting for top positions are the same individuals involved in vetting other candidates, likening it to letting a student mark his own exam, and the Democratic Party cannot allow such conflicts of interest to stand, warning that if the electoral process is not independent, fair, and transparent, it will be rejected by members and supporters.
To save the soul of the party, Lumu made five clear demands, including immediate publication of the genuine delegate list, full disclosure of nomination fee collections, unrestricted access to nomination documents, suspension of the vetting committee, and an urgent NEC meeting to fix the entire process.
While he didn’t mince his words, his message was that DP must return to its roots or risk total collapse.
Lumu also reminded Ugandans that DP was founded on truth and justice, saying that “If we abandon truth for convenience and sacrifice justice for political deals, we will lose the moral compass that has guided us for generations,” urging fellow members to rise and restore dignity, transparency and internal democracy in the party. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
