You have announced that you will contest for president in 2011. Is the DP presidency already in your hands?
I have ever sought the DP presidency. This time, the UYD (Uganda Young Democrats) have endorsed me. I have found a strong sense of support in the different parts of the country I have visited. I can tell you that if the elections were held today, I would be elected DP president general. Some would say UYD is just a small group?
A campaign is like lighting fire. Even if somebody brings you one piece of wood, you don’t dismiss it. I haven’t told you of many other people who are endorsing my candidature. But I know that in a campaign, UYD will have a significant role because they are young, vibrant and are hardened political combatants. Is your focus more on the young generation?
Don’t put words in my mouth. I have told you that UYD endorsement is one of the reasons why I believe I have very high chances of winning. Some DP members say you haven’t been active in party activities, which could work against you.
If being active means being part of DP squabbles which are negative activities, then I haven’t been active.
My confidence stems from what I have to offer to DP. I bring a solid record of achievement wherever I have been - as a student leader, parliamentarian, my role in the struggle for peace, and now as district chairman.
Secondly, it is not true that I haven’t been active in party activities. That is a smear campaign by some sections within the party. I re-ignited the DP caucus at a time when [Opposition Chief Whip] Kassiano Wadri and [Leader of opposition] Prof. Ogenga Latigo left to join FDC. That is when I took over as chairman of the DP Caucus until I left Parliament. In 2005, I re-ignited DP in Gulu. I single-handedly sponsored the establishment of a DP office in Gulu, renovated, and furnished it. Unfortunately, the party leadership let the office go to waste and the landlord repossessed it. But I am not campaigning on my record; I am campaigning on my potential; what I have to offer. Some point to DP’s Buganda and Catholic roots. How do you, an Acholi, fit in?
That is a perception that we have had to deal with. Perceptions are built over time and changing them also takes time.
It is not true that DP should be led by a Muganda who is a Catholic. DP should be led by a qualified person; and if at any given time the qualified person is a Muganda who is a Catholic, he or she should lead it.
I used to worry about it but am now convinced that we will change all that so that DP starts being perceived as a national party. The young generation does not look at DP in those terms. How would you juggle district leadership with party presidency?
The district is led by a team. I have a cabinet that works with me. So there is no need to worry that Gulu district will be cheated. I will continue to give my best to Gulu and at the same time offer leadership to my party. Does winning the DP presidency automatically make you a presidential candidate?
The DP constitution makes the president general a presidential candidate. Is that why DP is not keen on working with other parties for a possible single candidate?
I don’t want us to speculate. Our president general stated that the issue of a coalition with other parties is not an issue to be exclusively discussed by party leaders. It should be a coalition of members not of leaders. DP has been party to many coalitions and a beneficiary of many coalitions. So it’s not true that DP has snubbed the coalition. DP would like the face of the coalition to involve more people. We discussed it in the National Council and we preferred involving the rank and file of our membership. What is your personal view?
I believe in a coalition. Last year in Sanfrancisco, I had a two-hour meeting with Dr. Kizza Besigye and we were exclusively talking about how to work together. We have all suffered under the whip of a common oppressor. If you are prisoners, there is no reason to fight when you are in jail. You first need to come together, break open the jail. If you want to fight beyond the reach of your jailer, that is now up to you.
The opposition in Uganda is better off when they work together. In Kalungu East where FDC and DP didn’t work together, Fred Mbidde lost a chance to be an MP. When we all campaigned for Dr. Bayiga Lulume to be an MP, he won. When all parties campaigned for Abdu Katuntu, he won against enormous odds. What are your chances of leading the coalition?
When you join a coalition, you must accept that a candidate can come from any party. There is no need to make any presumption. Unfortunately most of our leaders say it is either me or no body. I am not that kind of leader. It can be me or somebody else. Some say it is DP’s turn after the party supported Besigye in 2001?
In a coalition, it is risky to say this is my turn. In football, you choose your best eleven. You can’t say this one played the other game, now let this one try. But of course this is politics, what you miss in having a flag bearer; you can gain in other areas. It is a give and take. If elected DP president general, you will inherit a weak and divided party. How will you revitalise it?
I am not seeing that weak, divided party you are talking about. I am seeing a strong, vibrant and victorious DP. I know DP’s potential; we are going to prove all the doubting Thomases wrong. And definitely those who have been insulting DP will eat their words. We need to bring on board a lot of fresh blood and revive our structures countrywide because it is people in these structures who campaign for party candidates. DP needs a message relevant to the needs of the people. The party is weak because it doesn’t have resources, it doesn’t even have its own home. What potential are you talking about when Ssebaana got less than 1% in the 2006 elections?
Ugandans wanted a two-horse race in 2006. Most people felt that voting for any other candidate other than President Museveni or Dr. Besigye could be a waste. This is something that we knew. Has that changed?
I don’t know. But given that we have a despot in power, Ugandans will always prefer a stronger contender to wrestle with that despot. So the question will be who do they think is the strongest contender? Ugandans seem to be persuaded by a president with a military background
I am a son of a soldier; but being a soldier isn’t one of the qualifications for president. It is just that Ugandans have been ruled by bullies so they think to chase away a bully, you send another bully. But if a bully kicks out a bully, he is also going to bully you.
A military background doesn’t mean that you have an army to defend you or your vote. Assuming I was a retired general and I am campaigning, the incumbent can order his goons to arrest me. So what has my being a general done to defend me? It is going to be David vs Goliath in 2011with Museveni as Goliath and chairman Mao as David. The North, your home area, is FDC territory. How do you plan to penetrate it?
I believe strongly that the one region that has insisted on change is northern Uganda. And whoever has been most articulate about change has got their support. In 1996, it was Dr. Ssemogerere, 2001 and 2006, it was Dr. Besigye. In 2011, whoever is going to articulate change in the strongest way will get the support.
But for me northern Uganda is not just a campaign field, it is home. And that makes a difference, this is where I come from, the people here are my people. When I talk about being stigmatised by NRM since 1986, they understand; when I talk about how we have been alienated; how we have struggled to belong to Uganda; how we are associated with the worst people; like Amin, Kony, Lakwena…they understand.
But I don’t want people in the north to vote for me because I am a northerner. I want them to vote for me because I am a bright star from the North that will get rid of the darkness and shadows which have been cast over northern Uganda. I want them to vote for me because I am going to eliminate the stigma holding back their hopes and dreams.
I want them to vote for me because I am qualified to be president of Uganda. But elections aren’t objective exercises. They are subjective. There are people who will vote for Mao because they say well; he is from here or the neighbourhood. Latigo says the North will vote FDC?
This is a contest where everybody stakes their claim. It is their opinions, and we don’t have a long time to either prove them correct or not.
What matters is what voters say. I campaigned for Ssebaana Kizito here, but majority of DP [supporters] ignored us and voted for Besigye. So if I am considered the best candidate, they will vote for me notwithstanding what any of the leaders in the parties say. Some say NRM is interested in your candidature to divide votes in the North?
I don’t attend NRM meetings so I don’t know what they are discussing. But I don’t think NRM will be happy with my candidature because my mission is to evict them from power. I think my candidature worries the NRM a lot. What happened to the National Patriotic Party that you formed in 2000 with Aggrey Awori?
I think you should ask Awori. I was a follower. What do you do when you are mobilised for something and then the person who has mobilised you disappears? It never took off because that was at a time when parties weren’t allowed to operate. Last word?
I appeal Ugandans to rise above their parties and see the opportunity that my candidature offers. I think Uganda’s new generation needs to come out of their apathy and embrace 2011 as a turning point, and opportunity for a new beginning. For me my job is to offer myself as a candidate. I think there are many good things that I will do for Uganda.
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