By John V Sserwaniko
It’s a public secret that Bugweri County MP Abdul Katuntu doesn’t like Dr. Kizza Besigye and it’s very likely the retired colonel doesn’t like him either. Whereas Besigye has never spoken anywhere publicly stating his contempt for Katuntu, the Bugweri County MP has publicly stated how uncomfortable he is with the battle-hardened politician from Rwakabengo. He one time gave an interview to the State-owned New Vision and denounced the Defiance platform saying it was comical for Besigye to pride himself in being called the “People’s President” when there is clearly one President of Uganda and “that is Yoweri Museveni.” Katuntu told the same interviewer that he had “parted ways” with Col Besigye whose politics he doesn’t find inspiring anymore. True to his character of exercising maximum restraint and never talking ill of opposition colleagues even in privacy, Besigye has never responded to any of these Katuntu utterances. But that doesn’t mean the two are allies intending to ever work together someday. Sources close to both say they haven’t talked one on one for a very long time. Even when Besigye drove to Parliament to interact with 10th opposition legislators, Katuntu (who stands accused of generally shunning party activities) wasn’t anywhere in the vicinity. Whenever facebook icon Tom Voltaire Okwalinga posts venomous stuff about him, the Katuntu supporters claim to see the invisible hand of Besigye. All this clearly confirms enmity between these two political giants both of whom ironically confess belief in and a liking for the FDC party.
HOW KATUNTU HATED KB;
Whereas Besigye supporters are quick to explain away Katuntu’s discomfort by claiming that attacking Besigye is part of the terms of reference given to opposition strongmen who are lured to acquiesce to some of the Museveni regime wrongs, Katuntu supporters say the man was pushed on the wall too much by KB. They refer to a number of instances which they say betrayed KB’s distaste for their man. The first instance was the 2008/9 FDC delegates’ conference that followed the death of FDC founding party chairman Dr. Suleiman Kiggundu. Following his death, a clique of Baganda leaders in the party rejected the posting of John Butime to replace him as Ag National Chairman. They were led by Beti Kamya who used the Butime choice to argue Baganda were being marginalized in FDC. Kamya insisted FDC Buganda chapter needed that position for mobilization purposes and the resultant chaos prompted the Party (then under Besigye and Alice Alaso as SG) to organize elections at Namboole. With Kamya gone or expelled (and the likes of Yusuf Nsibambi reluctant to run), there was a scarcity of candidates from Buganda to replace Kiggundu and yet letting a non Muganda to take that position would have implied Kamya was right in her political rants. Feeling senior enough, Katuntu (now MP for 20 years) stepped forward to fill that vacuum. He had many good credentials including being a Muslim just like Kiggundu had been. Moments after he started campaigning, Mzee Sam Njuba (Besigye’s mentor and neighbor in Nangabo) unexpectedly picked forms and got nominated on the eve of the elections. An impression was created he had the backing of Besigye who risked more bashing and demonization in case a non Muganda took the position as Kamya had predicted. In his campaign speech at Namboole, Katuntu (who perhaps expected KB to denounce Njuba) furiously told delegates to elect him because his bid was “organic” unlike Sam Njuba “who wasn’t into this thing until someone urged and convinced him as late as last night.” Njuba too made his case saying he was too senior to be pushed by anyone into the race. In the end delegates understood the dangers of voting in a manner that would vindicate Kamya and they voted Njuba who was as elderly and Muganda-just like Suleiman Kiggundu. Katuntu left Namboole with bitter and put all the blame on KB.
SECOND CHANCE;
Fast forward came the battle for the next LoP to replace Ogenga Latigo who had lost his Agago County MP Seat. The year was 2011 and KB was still party president. Considering himself senior enough having been one of the FDC founding members, Katuntu (who came from his dad’s party UPC) offered himself to serve. He invested lots of effort wooing NEC members and fellow MPs on the assumption it’s NEC that would have the last word. The rules somehow changed and the Working Committee was empowered to have the last word including scrutinizing whatever NEC would decide regarding the LoP and the rest of the party leadership in Parliament. The WC was chaired by Besigye himself as Party President and Katuntu, who had invested heavily to win over NEC members, felt betrayed. His supporters started saying KB favored the WC having the last word in order to circumvent NEC majority of whose members Katuntu had convinced. Some Katuntu supporters felt betrayed KB was preferring Cecilia Ogwal who remained in UPC and didn’t immediately join FDC like Katuntu had done. In the end when the matter went to the WC, members objected to KB’s choice of Cecilia Ogwal on grounds she was too new in the party notwithstanding the significant number of votes her Lango sub region had previously given to KB and FDC as a whole. It was agreed Nandala Mafabi takes the slot as a compromise position. Katuntu felt betrayed because he considered himself more eloquent, knowledgeable, unifier and efficient than Nandala whose inadequacies many feared would be exposed in the LoP office. After missing out on the LoP, Katuntu hoped being the only opposition FDC MP in Busoga for many years he would be empowered with chairmanship of one of the powerful accountability committees. That never happened. Instead he was made the shadow Attorney General which he grumblingly took with his supporters complaining it was an obscure position compared to what the likes of Kassiano Wadri took (PAC). Other committee heads were Jack Sabiiti, Semujju Nganda and Okumu Regan. Gratefully, Katuntu performed exceedingly well and always found himself at loggerheads with then AG Peter Nyombi and his comrade in crime Steven Kavuma who headed both the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal because of the vacuum created by Museveni’s delay to endorse Bart Katurebe. Sources close to him say that after failing to get himself consoled with any committee headship, a crest fallen Katuntu spoke to his key supporters and resignedly said “guys I’m done with Besigye.” Whereas he remained FDC, Katuntu concentrated on strengthening himself in Bugweri where the opposition FDC has always done extremely well. For instance today, out of the 13 district councilors (to Iganga district) 6 are FDC and NRM and independents share the remaining 7. (Katuntu supporters say their man wouldn’t even have become the COSASE chairman if KB had a way to block him or wasn’t in prison). Katuntu has been winning as MP and Besigye too has been faring well as Presidential candidate in the Bugweri poll. “He hasn’t been decisively winning against Museveni there because Katuntu has been lukewarm. What he always does is to print posters of candidate Besigye and paying boys to pin them up. He has also been facilitating agents to guard the Presidential vote at the polling stations but wouldn’t vigorously campaign for Besigye and that explains why Museveni has been winning,” explains an FDC mobilizer in Iganga who is also a close Katuntu supporter.
OTHER FACTORS;
The other factors complicating the relationship between Besigye and Katuntu relate to three senior FDC officials who are pro-KB yet Katuntu passionately hates them. They too treat Katuntu with contempt and disdain. These are Wafula Ogutu, Salam Musumba and Nandala Mafabi. We were unable to speak to Katuntu but his supporters say Ogutu and Musumba envy him for being able to consistently defeat NRM and remain the only opposition MP in Busoga yet for them are easily defeated by NRM lightweights. “Wafula Ogutu was defeated by Silwany Solomon of all people at a time he was the LoP. Musumba has thrice been defeated including for Kamuli Municipality where a lightweight called Rehema Watongola defeated her twice in her own home town. They are naturally envious and Wafula supporters believe he lost because Abdul never came to campaign for him,” says a key Katuntu campaigner who didn’t want to be named. Musumba is on record accusing Katuntu of exaggerating himself thinking that winning Bugweri and speaking on Capital Gang every Saturday makes him great. The two rarely talk. But Besigyeists say Katuntu isn’t a team player and fears the rise of other powerful opposition figures in Busoga. They give the example of Nasser Mudiobole who has many times failed to grab Iganga Municipality. They say it’s because Katuntu has always been lukewarm in his support for Mudiobole who always loses to NRM strongman Peter Mugema Panadol. “He is just a Bugweri politician and never goes to campaign for anybody at the FDC rally outside Bugweri. That is why FDC delegates don’t know him enough and voted Sam Njuba and shunned him. That’s his problem but he blamed KB,” says a diehard Besigye supporter who didn’t want to be named because is a big official in the party. Katuntu’s supporters reject the charge that he is envious of youngsters like Mudiobole. “That is total trash. Just ask all of them: Paul Mwiru, [Kigulu’s] Badogi Ismail and Mudiobole who their political godfather is. It’s Katuntu and that’s why they are for Gen Muntu just like their boss Katuntu. And for Mudiobole he has a character problem of being stingy yet Peter Mugema is too generous. He has a pharmacy which gives free Panadol and yet Mudiobole can’t even give free legal services. You can’t blame Katuntu for that,” says the Bugweri MP man. “The truth is Katuntu is an introvert because he doesn’t even attend clan or family meetings and that’s the context in which his absence at FDC rallies and other activities should be understood. But he contributes to FDC candidates. Just ask Eunice Namatende in Bugiri. She got Shs10m from Katuntu directly through her phone and yet the party gave her only Shs4m for nominations and polling day,” the diehard Bugweri MP supporter said. When reached for comment, Namatende confirmed this narrative but refused to confirm the figure of Shs10m. “He was very supportive. He gave me money and man power and the Range Rovers I used for my convoy on nomination day were all his and he gave me much more though never made it here,” Namatende said. “He was actually supposed to come and help me speak to Muslim voters but that day he got an emergency.” Namatende says Katuntu acted generously because he thrice reached out to her with financial contributions without being prompted. She says his money came at the start, in the middle and end of the campaigns and it made a huge difference for her campaign. She was reluctant to discuss how much FDC contributed in relation to Katuntu’s. In a bid to downplay Katuntu’s contribution in the Namatende campaigns, a top FDC official anonymously asked: “Okay he gave her all that but how much did he give to Asuman Basalirwa? I know you for having well researched news. Please dig deeper you will find that his contribution to Basalirwa was twice or thrice more.” Next we shall write about Katuntu’s Bugweri exit plan and the young man his political machinery has endorsed to take the mantle come 2021. Where does all this leave the wealthy UMEME engineer Daniel Ibare who nearly trounced Katuntu in 2016? All this in our subsequent coverage. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
