Norbert Mao: The Gravedigger of Uganda’s Oldest Political Party

Uganda Today: Norbert Mao: The Gravedigger of Uganda’s Oldest Political Party

By Uganda Today Political Desk | www.ugandatoday.co.ug

The recent Democratic Party (DP) delegates’ conference held in Mbarara was meant to be a democratic celebration. Instead, it devolved into chaos, bruised egos, and bruised bodies. Amid shouts of betrayal and flying fists, Norbert Mao emerged once again as president of Uganda’s oldest political party, securing a fourth term in an election riddled with accusations of fraud and manipulation.

That Mao could still claim leadership of the DP — despite such visible opposition and deep internal fractures — is both a testament to his tenacity and a troubling indicator of the party’s decayed democratic fabric. To many disillusioned delegates who watched the electoral charade unfold, the outcome merely cemented a painful truth: Norbert Mao has not saved the Democratic Party — he has buried it.

Below, we examine six core reasons why Norbert Mao is increasingly regarded as the gravedigger of the once-formidable Democratic Party:

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1. Failure to Rejuvenate the Party

When Norbert Mao assumed the presidency of the DP in 2010, expectations were high. Young, articulate, and widely seen as a fresh force in Uganda’s political sphere, Mao was heralded as a generational leader capable of breathing new life into the party of Ben Kiwanuka.

Instead, the opposite occurred. Under Mao’s leadership, DP steadily lost political traction and visibility, particularly in its historical stronghold of Buganda. He failed to attract younger voters or modernize the party’s grassroots machinery. His leadership style lacked the momentum needed to compete with new forces like the National Unity Platform (NUP), leaving DP stuck in a time warp as the rest of Uganda’s opposition evolved.

2. Deepening Internal Divisions

Factionalism has always stalked the DP, but it intensified dramatically under Mao. The party witnessed the emergence of various splinter movements such as SUUBI, the Social Democratic Party (SDP), the DP Bloc, and eventually the NUP — all spearheaded by disenchanted DP insiders.

Mao, critics argue, chose to entrench power rather than reconcile factions. His alleged intolerance to dissent, and tendency to marginalize opponents within the party, catalyzed a mass exodus of key figures. Rather than unify the DP, Mao presided over its fragmentation, leaving a weakened structure riddled with mistrust and resentment.

3. Electoral Irrelevance

Once a major political contender, the DP’s fortunes at the ballot box dwindled dramatically under Mao’s leadership. His personal bids for the presidency in 2011 and 2021 ended in dismal defeats, with negligible national impact.

Worse still, the party’s parliamentary representation has dwindled to historic lows, and in the last general election, it was thoroughly eclipsed by Robert Kyagulanyi’s NUP, which captured the imagination of the electorate, especially the youth. For many, the DP under Mao ceased to be an electoral vehicle and instead became a shadow of its former self.

4. Controversial Pact with Museveni

Perhaps the most damning chapter in Mao’s tenure was his 2022 cooperation agreement with President Yoweri Museveni, which earned him a ministerial post in the NRM government. That handshake with the long-time ruler was viewed by many within and outside DP as a betrayal of the opposition cause.

The move confirmed long-standing suspicions that Mao had been compromised — some allege even long before the formal agreement. For the party’s rank-and-file supporters, it was a watershed moment that symbolized the final surrender of DP’s independence and legacy to state co-option.

5. Intellectualism Without Grassroots Appeal

Mao’s eloquence and intellect are undisputed. In media appearances and national debates, he often shines as a sharp thinker and skilled orator. Yet these strengths never translated into popular mobilization. His style, steeped in intellectual abstraction, failed to resonate with the ordinary voter — particularly Uganda’s rural and youthful majority.

In contrast to populist figures like Bobi Wine, Mao appeared aloof, disconnected, and increasingly out of touch with the socio-economic anxieties of the people he aspired to lead.

6. Presiding Over a Legacy of Decline

The DP once stood tall as Uganda’s political conscience — the party of Benedicto Kiwanuka, courageously defiant during the country’s post-independence crises. Today, it barely registers on the national political radar.

Under Mao, DP has not only lost influence but also its moral authority and institutional dignity. The Mbarara conference, with its scenes of physical altercations and open disdain for Mao’s leadership, was a metaphorical funeral for what the party once stood for.

The Verdict

Norbert Mao is not the first DP leader to face challenges. But he may go down as the one under whom the party finally lost its soul. His tenure has been defined not by revival, but by retreat; not by consolidation, but by collapse. Whether by strategic error, leadership miscalculation, or political opportunism, he has overseen the dismantling of Uganda’s oldest political institution.

Mao may see himself as a statesman navigating difficult terrain, but to many within his party, he will be remembered as the undertaker — the man who dressed up the Democratic Party for burial.

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