Sacked PM Amama Mbabazi ‘to challenge’ Yoweri Museveni

President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda could face his first major contest for control of the ruling NRM party from a key ally he sacked as prime minister, officials in Kampala have said.

Mr Amama Mbabazi was dropped as prime minister on Friday after only three years for refusing to relinquish his powerful job as secretary-general of the NRM, amid reports he is preparing to challenge Mr Museveni for the presidency.

He had been under pressure to resign from one of the two jobs but is now under pressure from political allies to concentrate on launching an open campaign for control of the party that he, Mr Museveni and others have built over the last 40 years.

“If Mbabazi jumps the (internal) hurdles, we could see the first real contest for power within the NRM,” Ndorwa East MP Wilfred Niwagaba said on Monday in a telephone interview.

LIKELY TO FACE OBSTACLES

However, Mr Niwagaba, who is one of four MPs expelled from the NRM for dissenting with the party leadership, said Mr Mbabazi is likely to face obstacles if he decides to challenge Mr Museveni for control of the ruling party.

“I wouldn’t see Museveni subjecting himself to a contest at Namboole,” he said, referring to the stadium near Kampala where the party usually holds its delegates’ conference to pick its presidential candidate.

“And if he does, there is the real possibility of Museveni losing. Mbabazi has been cagey but everybody is waiting to hear what comes out of his mouth; you can’t underrate him.”

Mr Mbabazi has previously said he would not run for president against Mr Museveni but has not ruled out seeking the top NRM position, which would set up a contest between the two men within the party.

Wary of Mr Mbabazi’s extensive grassroots network within the NRM, pro-Museveni MPs have been traversing the countryside to drum up support for the incumbent to be chosen as the party’s sole candidate for the 2016 election.

NOT BINDING

Mr Mbabazi has said a resolution by NRM lawmakers endorsing the sole candidature, and the countrywide campaigns, which have Mr Museveni’s blessing and financial support, are not binding on the party.

NRM spokesperson Maria Karooro Okurut on Monday defended the sole-candidature campaign but admitted, “ultimately it is the delegates’ conference to decide”.

Mr Museveni came to power as a guerrilla leader in 1986 and won disputed elections in 1996, 2001, 2006 and 2011 without facing any serious challenge for the party nomination.

Senior party officials who criticised the lifting of presidential term limits to allow Mr Museveni to run again in 2006 were dismissed from Cabinet.

Critics say this reflects the lack of internal democracy in the NRM but Ms Karooro said the top party position has always been a matter of negotiation.