In a surprising twist in Uganda’s political situation, X formerly Twitter was filled with noise from two prominent opponents: Dr. Kizza Besigye and Beti Kamya, the Inspector General of Government (IGG).
The exchange started when Kamya started a direct critique on Dr. Besigye and Lord Mayor Kampala Erias Lukwago, whom she accused of betraying the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) by dismantling the party and creating a new political entity Peoples’ Front for Freedom (PFF).
“It’s a pity that FDC Katonga has decided to destroy FDC in the spirit of “if I can’t have it, you won’t have it either”. It’s such a mean, destructive spirit! If people who really started FDC while Besigye was in exile like James Musinguzi, Augustine Ruzindana, and Mugisha Muntu…Winnie Byanyima, Yours Truly, and others just walked away when things were not going according to our expectations,..” reads the post.
Kamya’s accusations also included Besigye, claiming that he was the one to bring Lukwago, who according to her, had a hand in the party’s downfall.
“..how can Besigye allow the Johnnie-come-lately like Lukwago and Birigwa to destroy a 20-year investment? Some of us contributed money to buy the FDC.. headquarters, but we left without claiming our investment because we believe that a strong opposition contributes to democracy. Such a destructive spirit is scary for a group that wishes to lead this country!! Are they going to blame President Museveni even this time as they always do? Kitalo!!” she posted.
Kamya’s attack was not just a matter of political strategy but also an assertion of moral high ground. She accused Besigye and Lukwago of being driven by personal greed rather than genuine political principles, suggesting that their actions undermined the integrity of opposition politics in Uganda. And her comments were a sharp rebuke aimed at discrediting their leadership and decisions.
In turn, Besigye fired back via Twitter in a heated rejoinder. He claimed that Kamya was a hypocrite stating that she should not have made the criticisms purely because she had changed sides herself.
Besigye claimed that Kamya had left her then-party and became a member of the ruling National Resistance Movement NRM, thereby raising concerns about her integrity and moral stand. Besigye maintained that This ideology of Kamya crossing over or defecting from one political party to the one in power could only be ideology without consistency. Thus, this placed her beyond making serious criticisms of the political ethics of others.
“It would be wrong to allow the 20-yrs investment for causing “Democratic Change” to be taken over by NRM/M7 Junta and turned against its original mission! It was Ok for you, as an individual, to defect and join the M7 you castigated for 20 years. It’s different when the party is betrayed by its leaders to go against its mission!” reads Dr Besigye’s tweet.
Meanwhile, the observations made by Besigye also drive home the idea of loyalty and political chess as a central theme of internal critiques which cut across self and ideological lines that tend to dominate the public debate in Uganda.
The discussion evolved to show that social media has in the recent past become used not only for social interactions but for disagreements and disputes of a political nature and for slander too.
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