KAMPALA – Twenty Four Jinja District councillors who belong to the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) to face disciplinary action for attending a meeting with President Museveni.
The councillors attended the meeting organised by the President, who was in Busoga Sub-region last week on a poverty alleviation tour.
Mr Abubaker Maganda, the Jinja District FDC Chairman, on Tuesday said the councillors attended the meeting with Mr Museveni contrary to the party’s National Executive Committee resolutions that require them to be cleared by the party’s Secretary-General.
However, Mr Meddie Mbetyo, one of the accused councilors, said he has never received any communication from FDC hierarchy and is not the first to attend a Museveni meeting.
Recently, the chairman of the Forum for Democratic Change in Kasese District, Mr Saul Maate, hsuspended four party Members of Parliament from the district executive committee for shunning meetings organised to host senior party leaders, including Dr Kizza Besigye.
The suspended MPs were Ms Winfred Kiiza, the district woman MP, Atkins Katusabe (Bukonzo West), Jackson Mbaju Katika ( Busongora south) and Robert Centenary from Kasese Municipality.
According to Mr Maate, the group refused to attend a meeting that had been planned to welcome senior party leaders such as party president Patrick Oboi Amuriat, former presidential candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye and the national mobiliser Ingrid Turinawe to the district.
He also warned the four legislators that they will not be voted to Parliament come 2021 because of their behavior. He said they have already identified candidates to replace the four MPs.
All the six MPs who hail from Kasese subscribe to the FDC. Only two legislators, Busongora County North legislator William Nzoghu and Bukonzo East MP Harold Tonny Muhindo were present during the mobilization meeting planned to host the senior FDC officials.
A section of FDC supporters in Kasese district had already called for disciplinary action against Mr Katusabe over his relationship with President Yoweri Museveni. Mr Katusabe last month hosted President Museveni in Karambi Sub-county, Kasese district.
On his part, Mr Centenary had lobbied for cash worth Shs200 million to cater for widows who lost their husbands during the clashes between the central government and Rwenzururu in December 2016.
Mr Mbaju supported the motion to split Kasese district against the wishes of his party.
Ms Kizza fell out with FDC and is said to support former party president Mugisha Muntu, who has since formed his own party, The Alliance for National Transformation. She was also removed from her position as Leader of the Opposition in Parliament and replaced with Mary Aol Acan.
