Absolute Lies: DP says Mao didn't grant Mbidde permission to support Bobi Wine

The Democratic Party (DP) has refuted claims made by it's vice president Fred Mukasa Mbidde that he was granted permission to support NUP's Robert Kyagulanyi by Norbert Mao, DP's president general.

Mbidde openly declared his support for Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine during the official launch of his parliamentary bid for the Nyendo Mukungwe division seat.

Mbidde, who seeks to unseat Matthias Mpuuga claimed that he held a meeting with Mao, who is standing for president on the DP ticket, where they agreed to take parallel positions on the choice of the presidential candidate.

He told his excited electorate that he decided to support Kyagulanyi after observing that he is the most popular and better-placed candidate to dislodge President Museveni come 2021general election.

But in a rebuttal on Tuesday,the party spokesperson, Okoler Opio Lo Amanu threatened that the party will reprimand party leaders and supporters supporting rival candidates against their presidential candidate.

"The statement by the DP Vice President that the president okayed his decision to support the NUP presidential candidate is totally untrue and it should not only be ignored but also treated with the utmost contempt it deserves,"he said.

He said Mao cannot endorse support for another party’s candidate when he himself is a presidential candidate in the general elections in the same manner Mbidde wouldn't endorse Mpuuga.

"We strongly believe that no party member can in good conscience support a candidate from another party for any position when DP has a candidate,"he noted.

He added that members have to take responsibility for their decisions save where there’s collective responsibility based on a formal decision by a party organ.

He however noted that DP will not be distracted from pursuing the goals for which it was established in 1954.