Thirty one years ago, it emerged that proponents and supporters of multiparty democracy and those who were pushing for the introduction of a federal system of government had been working together to unseat the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) by fielding a single candidate. At the time, the process of writing the 1995 Constitution was ongoing, and the expectation was that elections would be called immediately after the process had been concluded. The projection was that the general election would be held at some point in 1995.
According to The Monitor of December 19, 1994, the plan had been hatched following a series of clandestine meetings between the Democratic Party (DP) and the Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC). It should be remembered that members of the two parties and others who were keen on a quick return to political pluralism had already been working together in the Constituent Assembly. With the help of the late Prof Dani Wadada Nabudere, they formed what was known as the National Caucus for Democracy, to which Nabudere was the secretary general.
Some of the notable members of the caucus, especially from UPC, included Cecilia Ogwal, Obua Otoa, Okullu Epak and Dick Nyai. The caucus had already agreed to cooperate on issues of land, national language, human rights, pluralism and detention without trial in order to counter some of the activities of the Constituent Assembly Movement Group. Paul Ssemogerere, who was the DP president general, hailed the spirit exhibited by UPC members. ‘You may accuse UPC of having abrogated the 1962 Constitution, but I think you also applaud the contribution of Cecelia Ogwal, Obua Otoa, Okullu Epak, Dick Nyai and others.
They have had the courage to defend issues that are consistent with fundamental freedoms. On the other hand, quite a number of former UPCs are now mainstream NRM and are pursuing the old ways,’ he had said in an interview during the course of the CA. The newspaper reported that no candidate had been identified as of December 1994, but there were all indications that the search for a candidate was zeroing in on Ssemogerere. The newspaper reported that DP and UPC diehards used a December 18, 1994, seminar funded by the Foundation for African Democracy (FAD) to call for a united front of proponents of political pluralism and federalists in the next election.
According to the newspaper, UPC stalwart Adonia Tiberondwa, who was the Council Member (CM) representing Igara Constituency in the National Resistance Council (NRC), told attendees that the best safeguard for federalism was multiparty democracy since NRM was a monolithic system in which the centre, regions and districts had to be ruled by Movement people. ‘He [President Museveni] is not likely to beat a combined force of multiparty and federo supporters after 10 years of incumbency and fatigue,’ Tiberondwa said. ‘You can impute anything. I can’t tell you more without coming out officially,’ he said later when The Monitor approached him to substantiate reports that a UPC/DP/Federalists alliance was in the offing.
Tiberondwa, who was the minister for Industry during the Obote II regime and was later a member of the Presidential Policy Commission, died on December 22, 2004. Speaking during the same seminar, Patrick Mwondha, who was also the Constituent Assembly (CA) delegate for Bukooli County, then a part of Iganga District, is reported to have also made a strong case for the alliance. Bukooli County has since been divided into several constituencies. It is now a part of Bugiri District. ‘I am sure that given the unity of UPC, DP, and federalists we are sure to remove all the obstacles on our way,’ Mwondha said.
Mwondha, who was a deputy minister for Local Government in the Obote II government and later served as vice president of UPC, died on January 16, 2021, succumbing to cardiac arrest at the Uganda Heart Institute. He was aged 67. According to the newspaper, the choice of Ssemogerere was strongly supported by UPC leaders who saw him as the only candidate who had the capacity to snatch the vote of the people of Buganda from Mr Museveni. His being from Buganda, coupled with his advocacy for federalism and a political Kabaka, both of which were at the heart of the aspirations of sections of the people of Buganda, were believed to be strong points.
At the time, Mr Museveni had been quite unequivocal in his stand against Federo, and was said to be unsure of the depth of the support he enjoyed in Buganda.
Despite the apparent rejection of federalism in the CA, the NRM had entered into a series of discussions with Buganda. As it turned out, the life of the CA was extended by the NRC and the election did not take place in 1995. The first presidential election under the new Constitution was held in 1996. Ssemogerere was, however, fielded as the joint candidate of the Inter-Party Forces Cooperation (IPFC), which brought together DP, UPC and the National Liberal Party.
The alliance
Whereas Tiberondwa had initially indicated that he would lead the IPFC challenge, but the odds against the party were stacked against it, especially in Buganda and Busoga and most parts of the south. At the same time, its president, Milton Obote, was living in exile in Lusaka, Zambia. Mr Peter Mukidi Walubiri, a lawyer and leader of one of the factions of UPC, who participated in the negotiations that arrived at the decision for the party not to field a candidate and instead rally behind Ssemogerere, says making the decision was quite simple.
‘UPC has always understood that you join forces when there is a crisis in the country. We had done that in 1962 when we allied with KY [Kabaka Yekka] to avoid the impasse that had arisen, and we did it again in 1980 when we allied with DP to fight for a return to political pluralism. At the time, Godfrey Binaisa was intent on avoiding elections. He wanted to introduce a Movement-type form of governance,’
Mr Walubiri says. The pluralists were also well aware of the fact that none of the political parties had the kind of strength and depth that was required to take on NRM. ‘Museveni and his NRM had been in power for close to 10 years. The NRM had the State, the military, public resources and public servants. The parties, on the other hand, had neither resources nor structures. There was no realistic chance of victory except by working together,’ Mr Walubiri says.
The terms of agreement
Mr Walubiri, who was part of a legal committee that worked out the terms of the cooperation agreement between the parties, revealed that besides agreeing on a joint presidential candidate, the parties had also agreed to, where possible, field joint parliamentary candidates in most of the constituencies. They also agreed on opening campaign offices in the districts with a campaign headquarters in Kabusu, Rubaga Division in Kampala.
Post-election agenda
In the event that their candidate ran away with victory, he or she would give priority to three action points in the first 100 days in office. The first was to cause an amendment to the Constitution to have Article 269 repealed. Article 269 barred parties from engaging in ‘any activities that may interfere with the movement political system’. The same Article barred them from operating branches, holding public rallies and sponsoring candidates for political office for as long as the Movement system was in force.
The other two were the implementation of a minimum economic recovery programme and the demilitarisation of politics. The latter would have also necessitated a constitutional amendment that would lead to striking the army off the list of interest groups with representation in Parliament. There was, however, no power-sharing agreement or any discussions in that direction. ‘This was a gentleman’s agreement, and we never discussed who would take which job if we won.
We were not looking for jobs. We were fighting for freedom and democracy. Besides, we knew that a new government would be transitional,’ Mr Walubiri explains. Mr Museveni was declared winner of the election with 4,428,119 votes against Ssemogerere’s 1,416,139 votes. Mr Muhammad Kibirige Mayanja garnered 123,290 votes.