ALL IS NOT LOST ON GEN. MUGISHA MUNTU

By Moses Sserwanga So it came to pass when Gen. Mugisha Muntu could not beat the odds and lost the Forum for Democratic Change ,(FDC) Party presidency . But to many political pundits Gen. Muntu’s humiliating defeat having worked tirelessly to build the party structures and mobilise from the grassroots was not by surprise . Ever since he assumed the FDC party leadership Gen. Muntu ‘s leadership style and his background having been the e army commander for close to a decade was never accepted by the radical wing of the FDC led by Dr. Kiza Besigye . While the Muntu and his liberal supporters believed in the leadership of peaceful engagement , mobilization from the grassroots to create a mass base of supporters and putting in place party structures that can out live individuals, on the other hand the Besigye faction was hell- bent at the politics of defiance , confrontation and violence which prescribes to “an eye for an eye” principle. At the end, the two opposing forces could not be accommodated within the same party and it was apparent that one had to give way and the radicals had an upper hand this time round . And yet ,this was not the first time a senior member of the FDC party was being shown the door for having contrary principles , ideology and political tactical maneuvers to those of Dr. Kizza Besigye . Beti Kamanya experienced similar political mortification when she dared to take on Besigye . She left the party a frustrated, bitter woman and now she is back to the NRM. There is no way Muntu or Beti Kamanya would succeed in FDC with out the endorsement of Besigye just like no one can succeed for now, in the NRM without the support of President Museveni But all is not lost on Gen. Muntu who seems to have a national appeal which he never exploited fully due to the infighting , abuse and total betrayal that undermined his FDC Presidency .. I think the best way forward for Gen. Muntu is to either go back to NRM and work from within to start the succession conversation and also position himself as one of the possible candidates that can takeover from Gen. Museveni once the opportunity presents itself in the future ;or , he forms a loose political organisation , it might not necessary be a political party ( a party is an expensive venture to run and besides we have quite a number already). He can then employ that organisation to force a coalition with say NRM to take over leadership of the country starting in 2026. I'm saying starting 2026 because I'm not sure whether Gen. Museveni who will.be 81 at the time would still not be interested in having one more shot at the presidency. However, what is certain is that at that time , Museveni would be seriously thinking about who will take over from him and Muntu who would be , approaching 70 years of age could still be a viable prospect to do at least two terms. Right now , I don't think FDC especially under Besigye has the capacity whatsoever to wrestle political power from NRM let alone Museveni and apart from Jacob Olanya , Edward Sekandi by virtue of being Vice President ,I don't see an easy sell within the NRM to replace the big man . Whoever will takeover from Museveni in the NRM Party , will have to enlist the confidence and support of the security forces especially the army and for now I don't see any other better candidate than the amiable Gen. Mugisha Muntu. The writer is Communications, Media Consultant /Trainer And of The High Court of Uganda msserwanga@gmail.com Advocate