Opposition presidential aspirants John Patrick Amama Mbabazi and Dr Warren Kizza Besigye have met in the United Kingdom to further their chances of uniting to oust the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party and its leader Yoweri Museveni.
According to a an October 26 release signed by the two aspirants, the London meet held under the auspices of the Kofi Annan Foundation, is a continuation of the discussions previously held in Nairobi, prompted by former Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Amollo Odinga.
‘Under the auspices of the Kofi Anna Foundation, we have held a two-day meeting in London, UK to continue the discussions previously held in Nairobi, Kenya. We have made substantial progress in preparation for the 2016 general elections in Uganda. We will subsequently report to our respective political structyures so asd to complete the arrangements guaranteeing our success in the presidential elections,’ the release issued in Kampala under The Democratic Alliance (TDA) states.
Both Mbabazi and Dr Besigye contested for the flag bearer position of the TDA, a loose political pressure group. However, the two were later to go separate ways, with Dr Besigye, the flag bearer of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) announcing he would stand under his party’s banner.
Similarly, Mbabazi also indicated he would run for presidency as an Independent, something observers say prompted the intervention of Kenayan opposition ideologue Raila Odinga to intercede and try to forge a way for both men to work together.
It should be noted that Odinga is no stranger to opposition politics and together with colleagues he once championed a cause for regime change in Kenya, leading to the 2002 ouster of then long-serving Kenyan President Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi, who had led his political party, the Kenya African National Union (KANU) for 24 years.
Under the subsequent Rainbow government formed with Mwai Kibaki as leader, Odinga was to become a Minister but later unsuccessfully challenged his boss in the 2007 presidential elections, under the then opposition political party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
Unrelenting, Mr Odinga was to return for elections again in 2013 under the Coalition for Reform and Democracy (CORD), this time contesting against Uhuru Kenyatta, the current President of Kenya.
