Besigye close to tears!

FDC Elder’s Committee Report not worth the Paper it’s Written On – Besigye

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & URN  | Dr Kiiza Besigye, one of the founding fathers of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change-FDC, was close to tears Monday as he explained the sacrifice the party members have gone through as they seek ‘change’. He fears the current leadership is undermining the efforts of FDC members.

“Our struggle has been very costly, for those who want change. Many p3eople have died, many people maimed… it is emotional,” he told a press conference as he explained recent claims of ‘dirty money’  in the party.

Besigye, dismissed the report by the Elders’ Committee into allegations of “dirty” money brought into the party.

The committee led by Dr. Frank Nabwiso was constituted after Dr. Besigye reported to the FDC National Council information that he had received information indicating that the FDC Secretary General Nathan Nandala Mafabi had brought dirty into the party money from the State House.

A Col breaks down in tears!!!!! 😢 pic.twitter.com/IUaXnu4Ce8

— 📸 Isano Francis (@francis_isano) August 7, 2023

Besigye allegedly received the information weeks after Nandala had entrusted him with Shillings 300 million and given another Shillings 280 million to the party president, Eng Patrick Oboi Amuriat. According to Besigye, Nandala told him that the money from his account, which he feared Uganda Revenue Authority would cease due to pending tax issues with his companies.

Following Besigye’s allegations, the FDC leadership constituted a committee in May 2023 to investigate the matter. In July 2023, the committee submitted a report of its investigation to the party president Patrick Oboi Amuriat. The same was presented before the special National Council sitting held at the party headquarters on July 28, 2023.

Commenting about the report on Monday morning, Dr. Besigye said that the investigations ignored the key question that he raised with the party concerning the “dirty” money and instead sought to reconcile him with Nandala. Dr. Besigye explained that he has no personal grudges against Nandala, which needed reconciliation of the committee. Addressing journalists at his People’s Government offices at Katonga Road, Besigye said that the report is not even worth the papers it’s written on.

The four-time presidential candidate said the problem with the investigations started with how the committee was appointed. After Besigye had made the revelations regarding the “dirty” money, before the National Council sitting in November 2022, a decision was taken to establish a committee to investigate the matter.

However, the committee was constituted six months later. Besigye says there was information that the delay in the appointment of the committee emanated from the question of who should appoint it. He says there were suggestions that it is appointed by the National Committee while others thought, it should be by the party President Amuriat.

In the end, Amuriat appointed a seven-member committee, which was approved by the FDC National Executive Committee-NEC. Dr. Besigye wonders how a person who himself had received part of the “dirty” money could appoint a committee to investigate him. This is why, says Besigye, during the inauguration of the committee, as written in the report, Amuriat informed the committee that their main task was to help bring about reconciliation between the two leaders.

Besigye criticized the committee for being impartial, arguing that the conduct of the committee forced one of the members to resign on the grounds that the committee secretary, who is said to have been appointed by Nandalawasn’t recording proceedings of the meetings accurately. Besigye claims that some of his views were not captured in the said report.

He says that the party is currently under siege and that its members should rescue it, adding that there are plans by dissatisfied members of the party to mobilize others to rescue the party. He says that the People’s Government too shall be fighting to rescue FDC but at a large scale, the country.

The quarrels over the said money went public last month when the party was in the process of conducting internal elections. Some party members demanded that elections be halted until the internal conflicts are resolved and the party Electoral Commission better organized to handle the process. However, Amuriat, Nandala, and their allies insisted on the elections, which they say commenced on July 21st, 2023.

Besigye dismissed the elections, saying that even in places where it was claimed they had happened, media reports indicated that they hadn’t. Besigye wishes that the party’s National Council meets again, and when it does, it puts in place a transitional leadership to steer the party to a credible election. The transitional government, he says should start with appointing experts to conduct a forensic audit of the party resources and also general management of the party.