KAMPALA. Political parties under the Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) have agreed to the integration of the Consociational Democracy Agreement (CDA) initiative into the Uganda National Dialogue (UND) Framework.
This was resolved during a meeting hosted on Friday by General Caleb Akandwanaho Salim Saleh, at his Kirema Heritage Farm in Nakaseke, according to a joint press release issued by the National Consultative Forum (NCF) Chairman Godfrey Kiwanda, Gerald Siranda, the IPOD chairman and Prof Ogenga Otunnu, the Team Leader CDA.
According to the statement, the meeting attended by members of the NCF for Political Parties and other stakeholders was meant to reflect on Uganda’s political and governance challenges and explore pathways towards national consensus.
However major opposition parties shunned the talks over venue neutrality and procedural concerns. Speaking to KFM on Friday, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party president Patrick Oboi Amuriat said his party’s decision followed an emergency senior management meeting convened to deliberate on the invitation. He argued that the Nakaseke meeting violated key principles previously agreed upon by political actors.
“We had earlier preconditions for a dialogue, which include among others; a well-crafted agenda, a neutral convenor, well defined parties to the dialogue, a neutral venue, and a guarantor of the outcomes of the dialogue,” Mr Amuriat said.
Mr Amuriat compared the farm invitation with a recently concluded IPOD and NCF retreat in Jinja, which was hosted at a hotel. “The Jinja venue was convenient to all stakeholders and preserved the institutional sanctity of the participating parties. We therefore find it difficult to attend a meeting under such circumstances”, he added.
Other opposition voices also expressed sharp criticism of the dialogue venue. Mr Frank Bulira of the Revolutionary People’s Party (RPP), who also leads the Uganda Federal Democratic Organisation (UFDO), questioned the accountability and utilization of IPOD funds, accusing the platform of operating under the shadow of IPOD funds, accusing the platform of operating under the shadow of President Museveni while purporting to represent opposition interests.
“We say that the opposition should come out of the IPOD because its useless- infact, the biggest problem we as opposition are facing now is because of IPOD,” Mr Bulira said, while simultaneously demanding the immediate release of detained veteran opposition leaders Dr Kizza Besigye and Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago.
Meanwhile, the National Unity Platform (NUP) Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya also confirmed it did not send representatives to the Nakaseke meeting, saying they have long refused to participate in IPOD activities.
“We are not part of that meeting, we made our response early, and we shall give an official communication as a party at an appropriate time,” he added.
The decision, according to participants, was based on previous dialogue efforts and emerging national challenges, acknowledging the national dialogue framework, established by the authority of president Museveni on December 18th 2018, and chaired by then Prime Minister Dr Ruhakana Rugunda.
The participants also said that this arrangement will provide an established National Platform for broader, inclusive and structured stakeholder engagement towards political reconciliation, socioeconomic social transformation and national cohesion.
Gen Saleh, who serves as the Chief Coordinator of the Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) and is a younger brother to President Museveni, has been actively promoting the Consociational Democracy model as a mechanism to bridge Uganda’s deep-seated political divides.
