Mao: "Those questioning my leadership of DP are lumpens"
The Democratic Party(DP) president general, Norbert Mao has described members of the party who have come out to criticize and accuse him of misguiding the party as lumpens and people of questionable character.
His words appear to have been directed to a group of party MPs who questioned his leadership style at a press conference in parliament last week.
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The group accused him of failing planned party grassroot elections and of not respecting the party constitution.
This followed the cancellation of the DP grassroot elections ahead of the party delegate conference in March.
However,while speaking to the media on Saturday, Mao said: "I reject the accusations by those who say there is anybody disorganising elections. I also wish to let the country know that no individual not even the president [of DP] can undo the decision of the National Executive Committee."
Mao revealed that he issued a circular to the effect that anybody who disrupts the processes of the National Executive Committee will be subjected to disciplinary action.
He said the ongoing bickering and accusations against him by some members of the party are motivated by the divided loyalty from people of questionable characters.
Mao explained the roots of the current bickering within the Democratic Party noting that it can be traced back to the contest for the DP leadership in 2010.
"With the coming of Hajji Nasser Ntege Sebaggala, you could say a lot of lumpens came into the party. I call them lumpens because they don't share the same values of DP. For them, DP is just a meal card. The Sebaggala wave swept a lot of people into prominent positions of the party, people who don't understand the value of DP, people who didn't become DP by conviction, "Mao said.
He said some of these people who are accusing him have "rotten characters, are corrupt and compromised."
He cautioned that such leaders in the party will be eliminated in order to ensure it's stability.
"We believe that we are capable of pushing away such people and it's the job of the delegates to push away such people from the party, "he said.
Mao won the DP party leadership in 2010 after a divisive contest against Hajji Nasser Ntege Ssebagala, who has since crossed to the NRM.
