By Mulengera Reporters
In his Monday 7th letter, the DP National Vice President Hon Dr. Fred Mukasa Mbidde makes it clear to President General Norbert Mao that in his view, the Musevenist political cooperation agreement the Justice & Constitutional Affairs Minister controversially stampeded Uganda’s oldest political party into has become counterproductive and practically unworkable.
He makes reference to the last month NEC and National Council sessions at May 7 Hotel in Soroti where top party leaders reflected on the same. At that meeting, Mbidde proposed termination of the cooperation agreement between NRM and DP; a matter majority party members have been wanting to be comprehensively inquired into.
Mbidde says that subsequent to the Soroti meeting, he and others undertook consultations to inquire into the wider party membership’s view about the cooperation agreement. Apparently, this has brought him to the conclusion that majority party members and stakeholders are in favor of termination.
That from his assessment, time has come for DP to begin preparing for life after termination of the cooperation agreement as the country counts down to 2026. He then shares a range of activities he intends to undertake to accelerate DP’s preparedness to move on doing politics its own way in the aftermath of the inevitable termination.
Mbidde’s letter comes just weeks before the party’s pre-2026 general elections delegates conference is convened in Mbarara where Norbert Mao will be up for reelection while facing formidable opponents in actors like Richard Sebamala and Lulume Bayiga-both of whom are part of DP’s 9-member caucus in Parliament.
The activities Mbidde wants to undertake and wants Mao’s endorsement upon and participation in include holding comprehensive consultation meetings across Uganda. He calls this a caravan of consultation that will see him hold rallies and town hall meetings across Uganda. As he embarks on this, Mbidde recognizes and salutes Mao for the effective and dedicated leadership he has rendered DP since becoming its President in 2010. He doesn’t seem uncomfortable having him carry on beyond the May 2025 delegates conference. That doesn’t necessarily mean he doesn’t acknowledge areas that require improvement.
Mbidde wants to use his upcoming countrywide tours (consulting stakeholders on the direction that DP ought to take post-termination of the Museveni cooperation agreement) to get members’ input and generate consensus on what broadly DP’s campaign strategy going into 2026 must look like. This will require those turning up for his town hall sessions making suggestions regarding the campaign name and slogan that must be adopted to guide DP going into the 2026 campaigns.
He intends to consult stakeholders locally within Uganda and abroad. He also intends to be as inclusive as of all NEC and NC members as is practicable. Remarkably, what ordinarily ought to have been a confidential letter by DP VP to his President was curiously copied to all DP National Council and NEC members who the VP intends to carry along at every stage of his countrywide consultations. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
