The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), one of Uganda’s main opposition party, is poised for a critical internal leadership election following nearly four months of unsuccessful reconciliation efforts between two senior party figures.
The showdown pits incumbent party president Patrick Amuriat Oboi against secretary general Nathan Nandala Mafabi, both influential politicians from the eastern regions of Teso and Bugisu, respectively.
The decisive vote will take place on Thursday (July 31, 2025), during the party’s National Delegates Conference (NDC) at their party headquarters in Kampala. Over 1500 delegates from allover the country are expected to take part.
It comes amid growing concerns that the contest could deepen long-standing factional divides within the FDC, a party already weakened by previous splits and persistent internal power struggles.
Just recently, a group of senior party members, led by FDC National Chairperson Ambassador Wasswa Birigwa, formed a parallel faction based at Katonga in Nakasero, Kampala. This move followed a dispute with party president Amuriat and Secretary General Mafabi over accountability issues
Attempts at reconciliation between the two groups failed, prompting the Katonga faction to establish a new political entity, the People’s Front for Freedom.
This crisis comes just a few years after former FDC president Gen. Gregory Mugisha Muntu also left the party following his defeat in the presidential race against Patrick Amuriat Oboi. He also formed a new party, Alliance for National Transformation.
Stakeholders now fear that they might see the same thing if the two fail to agree on a single candidate before the delegated conference.
The attempts to broker consensus between the two contenders reached a stalemate earlier this month July 12, 2025, despite mediation efforts party elders.
A high-level reconciliation meeting held on July 12 in Mbale ended without agreement, forcing the party to proceed with an open contest.
Party spokesperson John Kikonyogo, during a press briefing on July 28 at the party’s headquarters in Najjanankumbi, acknowledged the collapse of the consensus initiative.
However, he expressed cautious optimism about an upcoming intervention: an expanded elders’ council comprising over 60 representatives from 21 sub-regions is set to meet with both camps on July 29, 2025.
“The stakes are high,” Kikonyogo warned, citing previous episodes where unresolved leadership disputes resulted in the formation of breakaway factions and diminished the party’s national standing.
The FDC’s history reflects recurring fragmentation.
After losing the presidency in 2018, former leader Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu left the party to form the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT).
More recently, a faction led by former national chairperson Wasswa Biriggwa, broke ranks over alleged financial mismanagement during the 2021 elections, and later formed the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF).
“We don’t want to see any split. The goal is for both camps to agree, so that whoever loses will support the winner for the greater good of the party,” he stated.
This election will determine the party’s president for a five-year term, till 2031.
