Cabinet Minister Florence Nakiwala Kiyingi, who is in charge of youth and children affairs, has joined the political battle in DP whose President Norbert Mao continues to be attacked by Butambala MP Muwanga Kivumbi. Mao has been accused of receiving Shs6bn which Kivumbi says was meant to facilitate his 2021 Presidential bid to frustrate the candidature of Bobi Wine who was counting on the DP Bloc vote until Mao upstaged him and declared his own bid. Mao denies being given Shs6bn as facilitation and says as a party leader, it’s his right to vie for Presidency and says Kivumbi should persuade as opposed to blackmailing him to back Bobi Wine. In previous media interviews, Mao has said that as Acholis from Northern Uganda, they are tired of being voting machines for candidates from the Southern part of the country. He says in 1996 they voted for PK Semogerere who was rejected by the voters from the South including in areas where the likes of Muwanga Kivumbi come from. He says voters in the larger North have warmly welcomed his bid for 2021 and he is counting on them as a block vote. Mao has also dismissed Kivumbi as one of the meal card politicians who pretend to like Bobi Wine in order to retain their MP seats in 2021. The bitter exchange between the two political figures has sharply split opinion in DP with people like Party Buganda region Vice President Betty Nambooze siding with Kivumbi. Nambooze says Mao is envious of the fact that many democrats are resolved to recruit Bobi Wine and make him DP Party leader at the upcoming delegates conference of the party so that he doesn’t become politically irrelevant in case the NRM introduces the Parliamentary system which NRM Caucus spokesperson Margaret Muhanga says is coming. Many others have backed Kivumbi who, however, continues to be attacked by members of the Abed Bwanika DP faction. Their spokesman Henry Lubowa says Muwanga Kivumbi is a very ignorant politician who won’t be allowed to destroy Mao when they are seeing. Lubowa says they have worked out a program to expose Muwanga Kivumbi to the rest of the DP members for being a 5th columnist working for the NRM to prevent DP from reuniting.
NAKIWALA’S TAKE
Over the weekend, Nakiwala addressed some DP leaders from Greater Masaka including her own Bukomansimbi district. She told them to actively rally behind Mao saying he is a gift to DP. “Since the year 1986, DP had never attracted such quality of leadership as Party President General. Mao is knowledgeable, eloquent and has a national character which DP leaders always lacked. Today DP has a leader with name recognition beyond Buganda. He is well known and recognized in Northern Uganda, the Eastern and of course the North. He is a jewel the party shouldn’t lose,” Nakiwala told the DP leaders. “If he is to cease to be party president, it has to be done in a manner that is very respectful because he is a colossus for DP. He must be replaced by a leader who is respectful of him and not a person like Muwanga Kivumbi who is politically so insignificant he can’t even untie his shoes.” Nakiwala, who worked well with Mao before become Minister in Museveni’s cabinet with Mao’s full endorsement, says should Kivumbi be allowed to demonize Mao “even the little support DP still has in places outside Buganda will be lost and that will be the end of the party.” She separately told reporters that Mao deserves commendation and not condemnation because of the way he has managed to rebrand and revitalize DP in such a short time. “Today DP has a leader who can eloquently articulate issues and the whole country admirably listens to what he says which wasn’t the case before. He is the man who helped DP overcome the stereotypes of being branded a Ganda Catholic party,” Nakiwala says adding that because of the high quality he personally represents, Mao can be fully welcomed and given a leadership position in any party. “That is why DP shouldn’t take him for granted because he is a big brand with name recognition beyond Uganda. And that type of leader is unprecedented in DP because we all know who his predecessors were and what the country thought of them,” adds Nakiwala whose husband Deo Kiyingi recently indicated desire to replace Mao as next DP President should the oracle from Gulu bow out at the next delegates conference. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
