Kampala, Uganda | URN | At least 10 opposition political parties and activist groups in Uganda have formed another coalition, through which they hope to end President Yoweri Museveni’s 36-year grip on power.
Speaking on Thursday 7, October 2021 at the unveiling of the coalition named; People’s Front for Transition, former President of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), Dr Kizza Besigye who was selected as the group’s National Chairman said Uganda is at an unprecedented level of crisis, that necessitates all political forces coming together to end the National Resistance Movement (NRM) hold onto power.
Dr. Besigye said the closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis in the health sector will continue to deteriorate if political players in the opposition don’t swallow their pride and agree to a common front.
Dr. Besigye said that the country must now realize that elections will not cause a change in Uganda. He said they have in the past tried them and realized Ugandans can only have a right to vote when they are free from what he called the NRM domination.
He added that Ugandans across the country must realize that there is a need to have a grand reset of the country in order to deal with the crises that the country finds itself in. Dr. Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate said that in the next three weeks, they are going to consult all stakeholders who have not been consulted before the launch on Thursday 7th and agree on how to work together.
The Lord Mayor of Kampala Erias Lukwago, who is the National Deputy Chairman of the People’s Front for Transition, said every change seeking Ugandan must agree to come together and confront the injustices facing the country now. He added that now that they are not facing elections, all political players should feel free to work with each other for the common good of the country.
“Our coming together is a sign that Ugandans are yearning for change and the rule of law. We are not here to compete with each other but for the common cause. Let the cause be the glue that brings us together. We are not here to connive against anybody except those who have hijacked the sovereignty of the people, we have a cabal in charge of our country,” Lukwago said.
Patrick Amuriat Oboi, the President of FDC said they are optimistic that the new formation will go a long way in achieving what eluded them during the 2021 general elections, adding that the unveiling of the front is a beginning of the hard journey that might see many of them jailed, harassed and intimidated.
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“Our comrades in the National Unity Platform thought the dictator could just be run over through an election. The FDC stays committed to every effort in advance of this struggle through a non-election platform to bring change to our country. Today is a very important milestone that will bring us together to take the struggle from one place to another,” Amuriat said.
Other than the FDC and the People’s government, the new front has membership from the Conservative Party, JEEMA, UPC of Peter Walubiri, DP-Block, Social Democratic Party, and Uganda Young Democrats among others.
Joel Ssenyonyi, the spokesperson of NUP said they will not be joining the group but they have no problem working together. “We don’t have to be one thing for us to work together for change. Ugandans across the country know what they want therefore, we shall be working with every entity and formation in achieving the change we want,” Ssenyonyi said.
