Thread by @eriasa1

A week before Gen Museveni released the latest cabinet list, a distraught member of the FDC told me that Joyce Nabbosa Ssebuggwawo, their deputy president for Buganda, would be appointed minister. I didn't confirm the claim until a day before the list came out. Follow thread...

Ssebuggwawo once served in the Kabaka's govt and is related to Nabagereka Sylvia Nagginda, so she's a good asset for a politician to have in their team. Within FDC she was referred to as 'Oweekitiibwa' and few dared antagonise her.

John Kikonyogo, the party's deputy spokesperson, once challenged her in the primaries 4 the mayorship of Lubaga Division & the party leaders refused to hold the primary, telling Kikonyogo to stand down even when he threatened court action. Members would only grumble in low tones

The grumbling grew louder with time as a number of members accused her of not being loyal to FDC. In the lead up to the 2016 election, for instance, Ssebuggwawo was one of few FDC leaders who favoured backing Amama over Besigye. She said Amama had money & would counter rigging.

Ssebuggwawo's loyalty to FDC was again questioned in the last election, where she favoured FDC backing Bobi Wine for the presidency instead of its own president, POA. Whereas she was acting president as POA campaigned for presidency, some FDC members believe she voted for Bobi.

Some accuse her of suffocating the progress of other Baganda leaders within the party, although some like Stella Nyanzi would disagree. But the biggest accusation that FDC members have had against her is the claim that she stayed in touch with M7, who they say calls her 'sister'

Speaking to especially the younger FDC activists, you get a sense that they suspect some of their senior leaders of working for M7 & many say the party needs an overhaul. There is a lot of info to suggest that Besigye shares in this frustration and is not sure how to hande it.

When Ssebuggwawo's name appeared on the cabinet list, there was celebration within the party ranks, with some saying it was good for M7 to take away his soldier. You get a sense that the party needs to get bolder and rise above the finger-pointing to discuss the problem openly

Ssebuggwawo is not that articulate & her political clout is in her identity. She succumbed to the recent wave, losing the Lubaga mayorship to an upstart NUP candidate. She told some FDC leaders before the switch that she'd accepted M7's job because she needed to continue earning.

Gen Museveni has been swinging around the huge chequebook that he wields & has left opposition parties gasping for breath. As Ssebuggwawo departs the FDC, your guess is as good as mine as to how many contacts she leaves behind. THE END...