28.06.2010

She is very well known within FDC for her hot-headedness, boldness, and frankness.  And it seems Anne Mugisha’s return to Uganda is causing minor tremors at the very heart of NRM HQ in Nakasero too.  The grapevine has it that as soon as Anne Mugisha returned to Uganda after 9yrs in exile, a tactical decision was taken by NRM strategists not to send the “usual attack dogs” after her in the hope that she will simply become an ordinary FDC activist after a few weeks or at best, a few months.  The NRM, we are told, is quietly worried about Anne Mugisha’s aggressive e-mobilisation and fundraising style that she got to fully appreciate while following US President Barack Obama’s journey to the White House. 

Sources within the Mao faction of the Democratic Party say that their leader Norbert Mao is finding it very difficult to decide whether or not to join the Inter Party Cooperation [IPC], a coalition of Ugandan opposition parties that are pushing for crucial reforms before the 2011 general election.  The “Namboze Factor”, we are told, is one of the biggest causes of Mao’s indecision. Namboze, you will recall, attributed her recent election victory in the Mukono North by-election to the support she got from the IPC as opposed to DP; her own party.  That, we understand, has made Mao see the importance of the IPC but that he is also struggling to bring his unwilling DP faction along; a faction dominated by equally ambitious young politicians who enjoy a lot of power in that faction.   The other big factor we understand is the fact that Mao, being the ever ambitious politician, has not yet worked out a strategy that will ensure that he becomes the IPC’s flag bearer in the coming elections; something that he desperately wants.

Unconfirmed reports that reached Uganda Correspondent News Desk last week suggests that increasingly, membership of the ruling NRM-O Party is fast becoming the hottest ticket in town.  The grapevine has that membership of the NRM now gives one a decisive edge in the daily struggles of unemployed Ugandans to get work in most government departments.  A young man who talked to us on condition of anonymity said before he and others were recruited to work for the National Identity Project, they first had to sign up and swear to vote for the NRM-O Party come the next general elections scheduled for February 2011.  Interesting times indeed!  Has anyone else faced such demands from people responsible for recruitment into government departments?  We would like to hear from you.