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Political activist and former Mawokota South MP Yusuf Nsibambi has been appointed the new party chief whip, according to a letter dated Monday, August 7, 2023, issued by the party.
"In accordance with Section 6 (1), the party hereby appoints Hon. Yusuf Nsibambi as the party chief whip for the Forum for Democratic Change, replacing Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda," it read, adding that, "In the same vein, we hereby withdraw Ssemujju Nganda as the party’s chief whip with immediate effect."
This new development comes against the backdrop of sharp disagreements within the once-leading opposition political party in Uganda.
On one side are Kizza Besigye, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, and FDC Buganda central region vice president, who also doubles as the Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago, among others. On the other side are party secretary-general Nathan Nandala Mafabi and party president Patrick Amuriat Oboi, among others.
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The issue of contention revolves around money within the FDC that, according to four-time presidential aspirant and former party president Kizza Besigye, is dirty money from President Museveni, who is also the Chairperson of the National Resistance Movement (NRM).
Mafabi and Amuriat have since denied receiving money from the state, saying that the money they got was from a "safe source" and should therefore not be a cause of alarm within the party.
While addressing journalists yesterday at his offices on Katonga Road, Besigye said Mafabi had lied about the money he delivered to his home in Kasangati. Besigye said he lied to him and said the money was his, yet he later learned from a source in State House that he had received money from President Museveni.
Besigye also rubbished the report authored by the FDC council of elders following an investigation into the matter. He said the report does not absolve the apparent issues within the party, and declared war on the party’s top leadership.