The Leader of Opposition in Parliament, also Woman MP for Kasese district, Winfred Kiiza has described the recent reshuffle effected by FDC President, Patrick Amuriat within the Shadow Cabinet as ‘media speculation’.
Kiiza who was addressing reporters at Parliament three days after the reshuffle, said that until she officially receives communication regarding the changes, she regards them as mere speculation.
On Friday last week, the FDC President released a list of members that will constitute the new shadow cabinet. In the changes made, Winfred Kiiza was replaced by Gulu Woman MP, Betty Aol Ochan as Minority Leader in Parliament.
Bugweri county legislator, Abdu Katuntu was also replaced with Kawempe South MP, Mubarak Munyagwa among several other new appointments.
But the reshuffle has been met with criticism from members of the public as well as Senior members in the FDC, some of whom have said it will cost the party political support come 2021. Others said it was a ploy to punish party members who sides with Amuriat’s challenger, Mugisha Muntu in last year’s FDC Presidential bid.
While speaking to the press at Parliament, Winfred Kiiza said; “The media has been calling me to comment on the reshuffle but I refused to comment because I wanted to first cross check through my office. The changes were made while I was away and I did not receive any official communication personally or through my office”.
She said that she has made attempts to reach out to the FDC leadership to seek clarity on the matter but with no success.
Kiiza was hesitant to comment on the changes saying she will have to first get official communication on the subject.
“When the official communication is made, peaceful transition will be done to the newly appointed leader of opposition. I am looking forward for communication,” she said.
“I still consider all these changes as media speculation but in case the changes are true, I would congratulate my party and my sister, Betty Aol Achan,” Kiiza stated.
She said that the FDC must know that the position of Leader of Opposition does not concern just FDC but the entire opposition, which requires the right procedure to be followed and proper communication made.
“Changes are always welcome, but they must be done in the right way. I wouldn’t want to see my own party abuse the same constitution they swore to protect. We can not break the rules of the games. We need to follow the law to the letter”.
She addressed the media together with MPs, Robert Centenary of Kasese, Elijah Okupa of Kasilo county and Betty Muzanira of Rukungiri.
Kiiza’s reaction to the reshuffle is similar to that of Katuntu who on Saturday said that the FDC President had not informed him yet as to why he had been dropped as Chairperson of the Committee of Statutory Authorities and State Enterprises (COSASE).
“My political theory is that I’m not an political activist. I can’t be like them. This is who I am. They expected me to bring activism in a Committee. Amuriat (FDC president) hasn’t even called to tell me the reason I was dropped,” Katuntu said on Saturday.
He said the changes were more of a purge than a reshuffle.