A growing rebellion within Uganda’s oldest political party has erupted after a faction of the Democratic Party declared the controversial cooperation agreement between party president Norbert Mao and President Museveni effectively dead, intensifying pressure on Mao amid widening accusations that he abandoned the opposition’s founding ideals.
In a sharply worded statement issued under the banner “DP at Heart,” Julius Dumba, the Publicity Secretary for DP Lubaga Division, announced that the 42-clause agreement signed at State House Entebbe on July 20, 2022 had officially expired and could no longer be used to legitimise cooperation between the Democratic Party and the ruling National Resistance Movement.
“Today marks the official expiry of the agreement,” Dumba said. “It can no longer be invoked to justify any action, attendance at NRM retreats, or claims of cooperation on behalf of the Democratic Party.”
The declaration reopens one of the most divisive chapters in the party’s recent history. The pact, unveiled nearly four years ago, stunned opposition supporters and reshaped Uganda’s political landscape after Mao accepted an appointment as Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs in President Museveni’s Cabinet.
At the time, Mao defended the arrangement as a pragmatic political engagement intended to advance constitutionalism, national dialogue and peaceful democratic transition. Supporters argued that cooperation with government could create space for reforms from within the system.
Critics, however, viewed the agreement as a political surrender that blurred the lines between opposition and state power.
The backlash inside DP was immediate and enduring. Senior party members accused Mao of entering the deal without broad consultation, while others argued the agreement weakened the party’s identity as an opposition force at a time of increasing political polarisation.
Now, with the agreement’s timeline elapsed, dissenting voices within the party are moving aggressively to challenge Mao’s leadership and reclaim the party’s direction.
Dumba said the pact had never received formal approval from key party organs, including the National Executive Committee and the National Council, insisting it remained a personal political arrangement between Mao and Museveni rather than an officially endorsed DP position.
The faction further accused Mao of drifting away from the party’s ideological roots and failing to secure the political dividends many supporters had expected from the alliance with government, including appointments and meaningful national dialogue.
“If your heart now lies with the NRM, then have the courage and integrity to resign from the leadership of the Democratic Party and formally cross the floor,” the statement said.
The “DP at Heart” group said the expiry of the agreement should mark the beginning of a broader campaign to “reclaim, rebuild and restore” the party through nationwide mobilisation and internal restructuring ahead of future party processes.
