Following the conclusion of the Soroti City East by-election, National Resistance Movement (NRM) vice chairperson for Eastern Uganda, Capt. Mike Mukula has accused the Vice President Jessica Alupo of working with the Opposition.
While addressing the press today, Mukula said he is very concerned as the chairman of the region that the NRM is a very strong party but the movement is being drawn into personal attacks and personal wars.
The by-election was won by NRM’s Herbert Edmund Ariko who polled 9,407 votes while his closest contender, Moses Attan of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) got 8,771 votes.
Mukula said he noticed in these campaigns that “people and groups were working in avoiding the structures of the party and working in silos,” adding that “a party cannot work like this, a party must remain cohesive.”
He accused the Vice President Alupo of camping in another area to avoid getting in contact with the Secretary General and him as the region’s chairman.
Mukula said; “And I want to say without mincing my words, that I noted that even during this time, my sister, the Vice President, her excellency, Rtd Major Jessica Alupo was working in isolation, in silos, camped in another area and avoided getting in contact with the Secretary General, not even one call, not getting in touch with the chairman of the city where the activity is taking place.”
“She was what I sometimes call working in when with Opposition, this is very unfortunate, the members, the ministers were divided, she has caused such internal contradictions in the Teso sub region, that you now have ministers who are loyal to her and others are loyal to another camp, you have members of parliament who are working with her and others who are not working for her,” Mukula added.
“This is not the way the party works, you are either for NRM or you are on the other side, this is a very serious concern, because this internal contradictions will weaken the party so that you have movements. Some of you might have seen how working with the people who have been rejected by people here. And you could see the reaction of the people in Madera where they actual embarrassed the Vice President, people rejecting association with her. So to me, I want to say that without mincing my words, and some of them will deepen internally, that this internal contradiction is alive.””
Mukula said he is very concerned that some people play the cards of intrigue, scheming, manipulation, and they need to be brought out to the open, saying the region should never be divided. “During our time, we have never had two parliamentary groups, one parliamentary group on one side, another parliamentary group on one side, how do you work like that?” he said.
He said he would rather step aside from being a vice chairman of the region than accept confusion in the party.
“How do you have two parliamentary groups in Teso. I rather step aside from being a vice chairman of the region than to divide my people that I will not accept, either step aside from being a chairman of the region but I will not accept confusion in the party.”
“Once you are appointed as the vice president of a country you are a mother of the country, embrace everybody. I encourage my sister to learn to work, like President Museveni, who works with everybody can even talk to people who are fighting him, embracing everybody,” he said.
“I am the National Vice Chairman of the party, we should be proud of that. But the moment we start fighting as leaders in the region, we’re embarrassing the President, we’re embarrassing the people and putting the region into a very difficult position.”
Mukula called upon the president to address these issues, because they caused a lot of problems for them on the ground.
