FDC party president, Gen. Mugisha Muntu has Monday broken silence on his inactivity in the defiance campaign amid claims he is silently opposed to Dr Kizza Besigye’s methods of seeking regime change.
It is widely held Muntu is not supportive of the defiance campaign spearheaded by Dr Besigye as the former has not been seen participating in any of the staged activities.
While addressing the party’s weekly press briefing at Najjanankumbi, Kampala, Gen. Muntu said he was not only in support of defiant activities but also the architect behind them.
“This room where we are holding the press conference is the room where we hold all working committee meetings. There is no action that has been taken without us first deciding on it and I am the one who chairs all these meetings,” said Muntu.
“For example, the meeting of Dr. Kizza Besigye when he was coming from abroad, we made that decision as a party and set up a committee and the same committee was organizing for independence celebrations,” Muntu clarified.
The former army commander’s submission could be aimed at deflating pressure from sections of radical opposition leaders who accuse him of showing indifference to Besigye-led political campaigns.
Muntu, a moderate in the FDC party, is facing a quiet campaign engineered by radicals who perceive him as more of a pacifist than a real commander seeking robust change of the statusquo.
He has publicly confessed his way of pursuing change differs from Besigye’s but that both share the same aspiration of rallying forces to dismantle structures that support Museveni’s presidency.
With the FDC presidential elections around the corner, Muntu knows the consequences of not being seen actively supporting Besigye’s actions on the streets.
Addressing the media today, Muntu posed rhetoric questions: “So what other association would you want beyond us deciding on the level of policy and determining what kind of actions would be taken? If you are chairing a meeting, what other decision would you subscribe to other than the decision that you take?”
It’s important to note that Muntu never appeared at Kasangati when Dr Besigye returned from Europe.
But he said he was a believer in civil actions.
“I believe in defiance; I never undermined any effort because it’s legitimate. May be when it comes to field participation many times I have not been in it but that doesn’t mean anything because I also know as someone who has also been in the army, there are many times you don’t see a division commander on the frontline but that doesn’t mean that he is not commanding a war,” said Muntu.