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He served as guild president during his years at Makerere University, a position that shot him to national politics and served as a launch pad for him to win two parliamentary contests and the chairmanship of Gulu District.
Norbert Mao is now staring at the ultimate prize—national presidency.
Saturday’s Democratic Party delegates’ conference set him on the path to the presidency after he was elected president general and party flag bearer for the 2011 general election.
Party wrangles
But will he have a smooth ride to State House?
The answer is partly provided by the process that resulted in his election in Mbale, where he defeated Kampala Mayor Nasser Ssebaggala.
Mao is taking over DP’s leadership at a time when the party is deeply divided into two major warring factions.
One faction is led by Prof. Joseph Mukiibi, who lost his bid to block the controversial delegates’ conference which elected Mao as the president.
This faction has other individuals like Betty Nambooze, Kampala Central MP Elias Lukwago and Buikwe South MP Lulume Bayiga.
By press time yesterday, this group was still planning to organise its own delegates’ conference, during which it will most likely endorse DP-UK chairman Samuel Lubega as their presidential candidate and Dr. Michael Lulume Bayiga as the secretary general (Mbale re-elected Mathias Nsubuga as Secretary General a position over which the party was dragged to court).
Unity needed
Under the DP constitution, the party chairperson presides over the delegate’s conference. In his absence, the deputy chairperson takes charge. But neither the party chairman nor his deputy attended the Mbale delegates conference, which could mean that Mao has a lot to do to unite this group with the one headed by the party’s outgoing president John Ssebaana Kizito.
Of concern to Mao, should be the fact that unlike FDC and NRM, the Democratic Party lacks any meaningful structures on the ground, having lost the most coherent and quick-witted members to NRM and FDC.
In reality, to many Ugandans, talking about the opposition is the same as talking about FDC. The ruling party itself sees its immediate threat coming from FDC and not DP or Uganda People’s Conference (UPC). However, Aswa County MP, Reagan Okumu believes Mao’s intention, this time, is to make a mark on the national scene.
“In 2011, what will matter might be who is from which party,” Mr Okumu said. “It is about leadership style and I think that Mao’s outlook is to build the party. He is trying to identify himself as a national leader.”
Mr Mao who has until recently failed to show signs of warming up to the idea of a joint opposition candidate, could in effect serve to help the ruling party by dividing what has been a solid opposition vote in the north.
But Mr Okumu, who is the FDC chief mobiliser in the Acholi sub-region, dismisses this argument saying that Mao has constantly campaigned against Dr Besigye in the past two general elections and the people on the ground have not taken him seriously.
“In 2001, Mao supported Aggrey Awori for president and in 2006, he supported Ssebaana. Mao has never been in FDC,” Mr Okumu said.
“He has always campaigned against FDC. But we in FDC supported him. I don’t see how Mao will reduce Besigye’s votes. It’s not about a tribal game. It is about issues that the party stands for.”
The Inter-Party Coalition that consists of major opposition parties, plans to field a single presidential candidate to compete against the ruling NRM candidate in the 2011 polls.
President Museveni’s Political Assistant Moses Byaruhanga says the NRM’s support in the north has been growing in the past four years and that Mao’s bid cannot have any pessimistic effect on his party’s support.
“DP can not pose any threat to NRM in the north,” Mr Byaruhanga said, adding; “How many MPs from northern Uganda do they have? To me, the biggest opposition to NRM in northern Uganda has been the Joseph Kony war, and since the war ended those leaders who glorified Kony have no message.”
Mao was seen, by the ruling party as one of the young politicians who rode on popular discontent against President Museveni’s handling of the northern war.
“Even some leaders in the north who contested as independents are turning to NRM and it is because they see it as a party which is on the ground to help them get re-elected. Mao will never take any support from NRM. ”
Although Mr Mao has been fighting tribal stereotypes to portray himself as a national leader, there are serious concerns whether he could be able to pull a big following in areas of Buganda, Ankole and Teso, that could as well determine who will be the next president come 2011.
Delivering his key note address to the Buganda Conference this year, Mr Mao said: “We do not choose our tribes. I did not fill an application form to become an Acholi. I detest being judged on the basis of my ethnic origin,’’ he said.
Makerere University political scientist, Dr Simba Ssali Kayunga observes; “His [Mao] election is a positive step because it shows that DP is moving away from Buganda region to gain a national character.”
“But before he can concentrate on defeating Museveni and Dr Besigye in 2011, I think his strategy should be on uniting DP because a divided DP will undermine his chances.”
