Legal Or Illegal? Suspended FDC President Amuriat Announces New Party Chairman Amidst Party Internal Scuffles

Patrick Amuriat, the Ousted Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party president, has announced that Mr Jack Sabiiti will be the new party chairman. The party’s electoral commission nominated Sabiiti on September 21 to contest for this position.

Sabiiti will now hold it for the next five years.Amuriat said the declaration came after Sabiiti being the sole nominee who stood unopposed ahead of the 6th October party delegates conference.

“Ambassador Wasswa Birigwa picked the nomination forms but never returned them, while Jack Sabiiti was nominated alone making him the uncontested new party chairman. Ambassador Birigwa no longer holds a place in FDC. I regret to inform him that he will have to wait for another five years to contest again,” Amuriat stated.

He made this announcement on Tuesday as he addressed FDC delegates from the Rwenzori region. This took place at Paulina Memorial Gardens in Rwimi town council, Bunyangabu district.He addressed the delegates in a bid to seek their support for his re-election as FDC’s president.At the moment, FDC is divided into two, with one based in Katonga and it elected Mr Elias Lukwango as the interim party president. This took place on September 19 during a delegates’ conference.

However, the faction at the party headquarters in Najjanankumbi says Amuriat is still the legitimate party president. It is also challenging the legality of the Katonga conference due to a court order.The group at the party headquarters is scheduled to have a delegates conference on October 6th. This will be aimed at electing new leaders for the National Executive Committee (NEC).Patrick Amuriat also said they have finished compiling a list of legitimate delegates for the conference.

The battle within the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) is yet to be over as the Katonga faction headed by the newly appointed party president Erias Lukwago vows to severely punish the leader of the Najjanankumbi faction, Patrick Amuriat Oboi and his group for selling their party to their long-time political nemesis-NRM.

The furious Lukwago who was elected last week as the interim party president by the Katonga faction, said Amuriat and his colleagues will have to pay heavily for soiling the good name of FDC.