Ono Bwino can exclusively report that Democratic Party (DP) president general Norbert Mao is set to present two names to the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) so that they choose one person who will be forwarded to President Museveni as the party candidate in the 2026 East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) elections.
President Museveni’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) signed a cooperation political agreement with DP which paved way for Mao to be appointed as the Minister in charge of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.
Mao was allowed to attend the ongoing NRM newly elected Members of Parliament retreat at Kyankwanzi leadership Institute.
Forwarding a DP candidate to Museveni is a political card that will widen the chances of the candidate to go through basing on the numerical strength of the NRM in the coming parliament.
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In the 2022 EALA elections, DP fronted its Secretary General Dr Gerald Blacks Siranda and Mao overwhelmingly campaigned for him after learning that Uganda People’s Congress’s Fred Ebil and Jeema’s Haji Kateregga Muhammad both Secretary Generals of their respective political parties had also put up a spirited fight and had sent their lobbyists to State House to convince Museveni to support them since their party was also in good books with the ruling party.
However, highly placed sources close to Mao revealed to Ono Bwino that the former Makerere University guild president is very bitter with Siranda and is regretting campaigning for him so that he wins.
Mao thinks Siranda betrayed him when he made a declaration that a big section of DP leaders and himself are supporting Annet Anita Among to retain her position of Speaker of parliament.
The pressure has mounted on Siranda to the extent that some DP party members have started alleging that he has run into hiding and switched off his known phone numbers.
His fellow leaders and DP members are also asking him to resign or else they will force him to do so.
“We know the role Siranda played so that Ofwono Opondo goes through unopposed as a Member of Parliament representing Eastern Region for the elderly, our party candidate Joram Mpande Kigenyi petitioned Mao with all evidence pining Siranda. Mao shielded him when the issue of the printing machine which was fraudulently sold was highlighted, but he pressed a wrong button, he is not going back to EALA,” a highly placed source said.
Ono Bwino can exclusively report that Mao is zeroing on his two henchmen, Fred Mwesigwa his longtime friend and personal spokesperson and Kennedy Mutenyo the party’s electoral commission chairperson.
Sources claim that the reason why Siranda accepted to be compromised and even blasted his boss Mao at Speaker Among’s mother-in-law burial in Budiope was because of the EALA vote after calculating that since Among commands a lot of support in NRM, with her backing, he will return to the regional parliament even without Mao’s blessings.
To prove him wrong, Mao is also banking on Museveni well knowing that his word in NRM is law and he has his ear. He also plans to use the NRM retreat in Kyankwanzi is not only to campaign for himself to be supported to become the next speaker of parliament but also sell Mutenyo and Mwesigwa’s candidature.
Sources told Ono Bwino that Museveni directed that a slot be spared for Mao to present a paper to the newly elected legislators on how to deal with opposition in parliament.
It is alleged that Mao has the backing of some National Resistance Army (NRA) historicals and Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba’s Patriotic League of Uganda (PLU), and insiders claim that Siranda and his comrade Fred Mukasa Mbidde the national Vice president of DP who also publicly declared support to Among’s Speakership bid are worried that they might thrown under the bus.
For the last three weeks, Ono Bwino has been making efforts to get a comment from Siranda concerning this development but all his known phone numbers are off and sources close to him claimed that he is out of the country
