We should have a dialogue with Museveni- FDC chairman

The opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party chairman Wasswa Birigwa has said that among the different people in the FDC, he is one of them who believe in a dialogue with President Museveni as one of the key factors to change this country’s situation.

Birigwa made the statements while appearing on NBS TV’s morning breeze show.

“I am among those people in FDC who believe we should have a dialogue with Museveni,” he said.

According to Birigwa, President Museveni is also aware of the situation and would not want to see Uganda turn back to where it was before he took over.

Birigwa claims that people are tired of the regime, while others have been negatively impacted by the economy, no wonder the recent rise in deaths by shootings.

“Many Ugandans do not know what was here before, they have not seen war and would not like it. President Museveni would not like it either, he would not like the same for his family members or his grandchildren,” Birigwa said.

“Anything can happen in Uganda now. We need to transit and we need Museveni to be part of it,” he added.

It should be noted that FDC has time and again refused to be drawn into a dialogue with Museveni and NRM.

The FDC also threatened to pull out of the Inter-party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD), saying the remaining political parties cannot be trusted.

Elections

On elections, Birigwa said that waiting for the 2026 polls is not viable.

“Why should we be looking at 2026? I want a revolution now, people are tired. Really, what is 2026 going to bring?” he said.

“Some of our people think that elections are no longer viable and maybe we should take another path while others are saying we need to take part in the elections to stay relevant,” he added.

On NUP

Regarding the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP), Birigwa said that while the wave of Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine was formidable in the Buganda region, it was not a bad thing for the opposition as a whole, but the NUP remained widely unrecognized outside Buganda.

“We have more numbers of grassroots supporters than NUP and I can challenge anyone who says otherwise,” he said.

He said the NUP should not settle to only being leaders of opposition in parliament but “should be working to take power.”

“It's up to NUP to decide how well they have performed as leaders of Opposition in Parliament. They know their people very well and their constituents. It's NUP and those who elected them to decide how well they have performed,” he said