Magara Darious the Managing editor of Eastafricanwatch.net talked to Hon Jack Sabiti the chairman of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party. In a Q&A interview he talked about Dr. Kizza Besigye’s arrest and gave updates in his party. Check details below;
How has the FDC party registration of members been?
We some time back launched a digital registration of FDC party members in Kampala and rolled out the exercise country wide later. I can proudly report to you that the exercise has been going on very well. Using our app members are registered and they pay their membership fees which starts at sh. 5000 up to many millions of shillings depending on the category a member decides to join as.
We have been to the central, northern, eastern and western districts of Uganda in our first party mobilization exercise.
It is important to note that this system of registering and recruiting members is even practiced in UK and it’s a great system to mobilise committed party members.
This registration stops occurrence of forgeries and party money is sent directly to the party account which is well managed compared to when it was being received by cashiers.
Will you continue registering new members?
Oh yes, we welcome new members and we shall soon establish offices where our staff will guide members of the public on how they can register as new members in all districts of Uganda.
Are you planning another country wide mobilization exercise and when?
Yes we shall hold another phase of mobilization of members and we shall emphasize areas of especially, Ankole, Rwenzori and Kigezi where we did not cover so exhaustively so that we can meet our supporters. We have not fixed the date but we shall carry out the second mobilization exercise soon.
How prepared is FDC party for the 2026 elections?
We are very prepared for the 2026 general elections and we plan to field candidates on most seats; Presidential, MP and local council seats. But we shall emphasize our efforts in areas where we are very strong but this is also dependent on availability of funds. We will soon start the process of vetting candidates so that we can be able to select good leaders who can compete for seats with other parties and win.
What about the arrest of Dr Kizza Besigye?
It was a wrong arrest or the way the arrest was done was very poor, this is not for Dr. Besigye alone government should not arrest people in a wrong way and even to keep them in detention for long without trial. I do not have facts of the offenses of Dr. Besigye but he was arrested in a wrong way.
Let the constitutional process be followed. Some opposition leaders and supporters have overstayed in jail without trial. I appeal to government to release them.
We appeal to government to follow the law and give people justice as it is stipulated in the constitution.
And what issues do you have against Dr. Besigye?
However I have issues with Dr. Besigye; we don’t agree politically because he spoke lies about me and tarnished my image in the public that I received money from President Museveni and I will never forgive him. Dr. Besigye sent me someone to Kampala Club to say sorry some months back and I told him that I will never forgive him (Besigye) because of that lie.
How could Besigye say that President Museveni gave me money, President Museveni cannot give Sabiiti money. They tried before we refused to work with NRM and we have fundamental reasons.
We sometime back meet President Museveni and we were 12 senior Politicians; including Mathew Rukikire, John Kazoora he tried to win us back to government with jobs but we refused his offers and we told him why we had turned down his offer.
Did you sacrifice so much for FDC party?
I sacrificed so much for the party and worked faithfully to Dr. Besigye but he paid us back so badly. He makes some mistakes like lying that we received money from President Museveni was terrible on his part. It was bad and he intended to break up the party because of his selfish interests.
I almost died in Isingiro where we almost fell off from a cliff as we drove and mobilized for FDC party.
Do you have any message to the public?
I appeal to all Ugandans to support FDC because we are focused on fighting for the democracy and good governance of Ugandans. We regret the challenges we went through as a Party when our former colleagues tried to tear the party apart but we thank God eventually they left to form their own party. FDC Party Is strong and has stood the test of time, please trust us with your support we shall work for the good of all Ugandans to fight poverty and work for the good of all.
