UPC rift widens, split is imminent By Edris Kiggundu WEEKLY OBSERVER In his resignation letter dated May 13, Kyeyune Senyonjo refers to UPCs Constitutional Steering Commission (CSC) as the Confusion Steering Commission.
Senyonjo, who has been the secretary of UPCs Finance and Administration Bureau, also writes that: The dictatorship in UPC is inherently worse than Musevenis NRM. Clearly, not all is well in the CSC. Two months since its inception, members are raising questions about its seriousness and internal democracy. Last week, the party dismissed the chairman of its national youth league, James Otto, for non performance. Rwanyarare Walubiri On April 23, when the party held a national consultative meeting, members like Oweyegha Afunaduula and Nelson Umah Tete were locked out, allegedly because they had come to disorganise the meeting. Was this their intention? No, Afunaduula said, We had come to express our views. You can block someone physically but not psychologically. But CSC secretary general Peter Walubiri told The Weekly Observer that critics like Afunaduula, Tete and Senyonjo are nonentities and proven failures who cannot give the commission a new dimension. CSC shunned The expulsion of Otto brings the number of people who have quit the CSC to five. Others are Senyonjo, Afunaduula, Dr. James Rwanyarare and Umah Tete. Their bitterness partly stems from the fact that they were sidelined in the CSC but also because they believe the party has veered off the democratic path. The four, together with other members such as Cecilia Ogwal, have now formed a parallel (albeit still nameless) group that constantly criticises the CSC. Rwanyarare, former chairman of the defunct Presidential Policy Commission (PPC), which CSC replaced in March, told The Weekly Observer that he declined the post of adviser of the party on G6 relations because it does not fit someone of my stature. I preferred to remain just an activist, so I declined the appointment. I report to all party members, not to specific leaders, and my office is everywhere, he said. He has since taken the party president, Apollo Milton Obote, to court over what he termed wrongful dismissal. Badru Wegulo, the CSC chairman, is now also the partys G6 representative. Walubiri said CSC would not lose anything even if Rwanyarare left. He failed to even collect signatures from Kanungu where he comes from. We tolerated him for a long time, he said. Conference rigged? There are now allegations that the CSC is in the process of rigging the delegates conference in favour of some members. The plan, which inside sources say is already being implemented, is for some CSC members to go the grassroots and influence the choice of delegates there. These, in turn, shall pick the right candidate for party leadership come August when UPC intends to hold its conference. Tete backed these claims in his reply to Walubiris letter of May 4, which warned him (Tete) against mingling in the affairs of the CSC. Tete wrote: They (CSC) want to rig the UPC elections during the delegates conference by using their handpicked delegates we shall crush this UPC dictatorship everywhere. So far, Rwanyarare, Aggrey Awori (Samia Bugwe North MP) and Henry Mayega, a member of the CSC, have voiced their ambitions to succeed exiled Milton Obote as party president. Joseph Ochieno, a member of the CSC, however, said that the CSC could not rig the elections because UPC is a transparent party. Those who want leadership positions should go out and campaign instead of maligning the party, he said. Wegulo laughed off the allegations, saying empty talk would not stop them from doing a good job. Is CSC active? Commenting on their performance, Wegulo said: Within two months, we have convened a national consultative meeting, we have opened branches in Tororo, Lira and Bushenyi; so ask those people what they mean by saying we are not playing our part. However, Rwanyarare countered that CSC had not done anything substantial; it was merely building on the structures left behind by the now disbanded Presidential Policy Commission that he headed. Tell me, what have they done that they did not find in place? he asked. Walubiri said that by the end of May, they had conducted elections in most branches countrywide. And later this month, constituency conference elections shall be held where elected persons shall become automatic delegates at the annual delegates conference. What does the future hold? UPC, like other parties, is headed towards a crucial period, which demands cohesion and unity. Frustration within a section of its members is likely to derail the party and further undermine its image. If the party goes into the delegates conference thus divided, it could emerge not one but two or three factions. [EMAIL PROTECTED] \\\\\\\"Always be a first rate version of yourself instead of a second rate version of someone else.\\\\\\\\\\\\\" Njoki Paul University of Pretoria _______________________________________________ Ugandanet mailing list [email protected] http://kym.net/mailman/listinfo/ugandanet % UGANDANET is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/
