The former President for Forum for Democratic Change, Dr. Kizza Besigye, has insisted that the party President Patrick Amuriat Oboi and the Secretary General Nathan Nandala Mafabi, got funding for the 2021 general elections from unknown sources.
Speaking at a press conference held at his Katonga road offices in Kampala, Besigye said that large sums of money have been flowing in the party.
“Large sums of money have been coming into our party at every election. Delegates are accommodated in hotels. We have been travelling along that path for quite some time” Dr. Kizza Besigye commented on the ongoing FDC power struggle.
He added that they held several meetings about the suspicious hand pouring in money he was worried about but they came to nothing.
“Those who we tasked to give us information instead asked who we are in the party (not members of any organ) and said I had no locus to ask questions,” Besigye said.
He asked the team led by Amuriat to wait for a report by the committee set up to investigate the ongoing accusations.
On Monday this week, a section of FDC leaders led by the Party Spokesperson Semujju Nganda, held a consultative meeting in Nsambya, where several accusations were made towards Mafabi, Amuriat and other leaders.
He claimed that Mafabi is being used by president Museveni to destroy the FDC.
“Nandala wants these elections to happen so that he can quickly take over the FDC and then load it on the pickup and take it to State House, We are going to reveal all their dealings with the NRM at this meeting, we shall tell all leaders about their behaviour,” Semujju said.
However, addressing the press at the party headquarters in Najjanankumbi, Mafabi said attacks from Nganda and his group are driven by selfish ambitions for power and the prospect of getting rich by assuming leadership of the party.
Replying to Besigye, Amuriat said it has taken them two years to quietly resolve the allegations raised by Besigye and Semujju, however this has not been successful.
He clarified that they have not received a single penny from President Museveni except that got through the Electoral Commission.
“For the record, we have never received any money from the Museveni regime. The only money we have received is legal through the National Electoral Commission and has always been accounted for,” Amuriat said.
Meanwhile, Mafabi noted, “Let us also go back to memory lane. During the 2006, 2011, and 2016 general elections, Dr. Kiiza Besigye was funded as a presidential candidate. We also went ahead and funded all the activism activities.”
“All these were in billions of shillings, but no one ever dared inquire into the source of the money. We sourced these funds legally and made these activities possible,” he emphasized.
“In 2021, when Hon. Amuriat contested, we did the same sourcing of funds and made the campaigns possible. Why then is it a problem now that Hon. Amuriat is in the picture, but it was never an issue then? These are double standards from the people who professionally fight for the party. This is unacceptable.” Mafabi noted.