The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party national chairperson Ambassador Wasswa Birigwa is in the spotlight over the 638 million shillings deal that he allegedly sealed with the state house to help him with facilitating the party’s Extra National Delegates Conference (ENDC) that he called on 19th September 2023, according to the highly placed sources in his inner circle.
The deal is said to have been brokered by the state Minister for ICT Owekitiibwa (owek) Joyce Nabbosa Ssebuggwawo who later allegedly delivered the funds to Amb. Birigwa in installments.
It has emerged from the sources that the dual held a strategic meeting at chairman Birigwa’s Nature’ Green beach, Busaabala in Wakiso district on Monday 4th September 2023 under which several issues around the ENDC were discussed and delivery of the final installment of the funds.
It is said by the sources that it was after that meeting that Ambassador Birigwa exuded confidence and fresh energy to call for his Wednesday 6 September press conference under which he confirmed that the ENDC will take place at his Nature’ Green beach before vowing never to give up on convening the ENDC which had since been contested as an ulterior move against the Najjanankumbi administration that control the party, come rain come shine.
Sources allege that by the time the deal was sealed the former Kampala city mayoral aspirant was heavily indebted, and so, it gave him new hope and breath as reflected in the award of his business to supply food and other logistical items to the “delegates “, including a possibility of hosting the event there at his beach resort.
Birigwa had first been denied the same amount of money by the FDC party NEC-Working Committee during its September 1st 2023 meeting held at the party headquarters on grounds that the party had only budgeted for the October 6th 2023 National Delegates Conference to be held at UMA hall in Kampala, which had been approved by the 16th National Council and NEC.
In his September 2nd 2023 response letter to Birigwa’s August 24th 2023 letter under which he had requested for 638 million shillings for his ENDC activity, FDC’s secretary general Nathan Nandala Mafabi had wondered as to why the former was only organizing for the conference at the tail end of his 8 year-tenure, accusing him of serving the interests of rebel party members under Dr. Kiiza Besigye camp based at his Katonga road offices in Kampala, that have been lambasting the Najjanankumbi administration through press conferences.
It should be noted that owek Nabbosa Ssebuggwawo who was the FDC deputy president for Buganda region and mayor for Lubaga Municipal Council on the same party ticket had defected to the ruling National Resistence Movement (NRM) government and appointed a Minister shortly after the 2021 elections on losing them to the National Unity Platform (NUP)’s Zacky Maula Mbereza.
Ssebuggwawo has of late been at the fore of brokering the Buganda kingdom clan heads- bataka deal with state house under which they were promised financial support to procure prime for their projects in Bulange-Mengo among other things that has ever since created feud between them and Mengo established.
However, our efforts to seek a comment from Minister Ssebuggwawo about the matter were fruitless as our phone calls went unanswered.
Flanked with one of his allied members to the Katonga road camp Proscovia Salaam Musumba also the FDC party vice chairperson for eastern region during a press conference at his Busaabala beach, Birigwa confirmed meeting with Ssebuggwawo when journalists tasked him to explain.
Birigwa who was irritated by the journalist’s questioning noted that he was a close friend with Minister Ssebuggwawo although she had left the desert for the forest.
He said that had it not been Ssebuggwawo, he wouldn’t have been holding his chairmanship seat in FDC party.
Birigwa confirmed having a good relationship with the NRM party chairperson also the head of state Gen. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
