By David Serumaga
Swarms of deadly desert locusts entered Uganda on Sunday after having emaciated several parts of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia destroying crops/greenery and causing financial loss. However, in the political perspective, these desert locusts might have invaded Uganda many years ago and have along been stationed in the party identified with green color which is Democratic Party (DP).
The trend of public humiliations and disagreement we experiencing in DP did not start today but it is something that has taken years. The desert locusts is believed to have started enjoying the DP green cover in 1960s whereby in 1964, there was a scuffle between Ben Kiwanuka and Basil Kizza Bataringaya which ended when Bataringaya had left DP and joined Uganda People’s Congress. DP kept on facing challenges and in 1980, the desert locust resurrected when Professor a strong DP member but a protestant was planning to return to Uganda, he was fought by Dr. Paul Kawanga Ssemwogerere and Francis Wazarwahi Bwengye.
These deadly desert political locusts also were perceived in 2000 when DP declared Bwengye as DP presidential candidate something which Dr. Ssemwogerere rejected hence forcing Bwengye and his faction to leave DP.
In 2010 when Norbert Mao was elected as the DP president, his contender, Hajji Nasser Ntege Sebagala disagreed with the outcomes which led him to quit DP and formed his own Liberal Democratic Party.
The 2011 fracas of the rise of Suubi from DP and regular attacks between both parties proved that the desert political locusts were on serious mission to finish. Suubi members that were bitter against the DP president included MPs Mathias Mpuuga, Betty Nambooze and Dr Lulume Bayiga among others. They later settled their grievances but in 2015 the differences rose again and the Lord Mayor Elias Lukwago, Samuel Lubega, Allan Sewenyana and Moses Kasibante among others decided to form a pressure group called Truth and Justice (TJ).
The DP crisis is deepening each and every day in a way that the party leaders have resorted to abusing themselves in public. This proves that the desert political locust is finishing DP when its senior members and elders are just watching. The pesticide that will save the DP green cover needs an American hand because the methods they have been using to settle their misunderstandings have failed to work.
Currently, Besigye’s people’s government has fetched three DP members like Elias Lukwago, Betty Nambooze, Allan Sewanyana and others. They are working closely with Dr. Besigye and the Forum for Democratic Change group something which has neutralized DP’s strength and cadreship. The actions of Hon. Joseph Sewungu, Brenda Nabukenya, Muwanga Kivumbi, Medard Segona, Florence Namayanja, Mathias Mpuga, Sulaiman Kidandala among others and the DP president with his secretary general Gerald Siranda. The way these leaders behave shows that the pesticides that were used to reorganize DP got expired and the desert political locust is yet to finish the green cover of this political party. If the party resorted to exchange of blows and throwing stons to each other, if the party elders do not come out to put the house to order, it will need for President Museveni’s intervention (Museveni atuyambe).
