Africa-Press – Uganda. In an ironic twist worthy of political folklore, Democratic Party (DP) President General Norbert Mao and his deputy Fred Mukasa Mbidde have come together to “plant fresh pumpkin seeds”—a symbolic gesture that may yet yield new life for a party long fractured by internal contradictions and external ridicule.
The phrase is more than poetic: during the party’s bruising split ahead of the 2021 general elections, Mao famously dismissed Mukono legislator Betty Nambooze as a watermelon—green on the outside, red inside, accusing her of faking loyalty to DP while aligning with the National Unity Platform (NUP).
Nambooze, who later joined NUP formally, retorted that Mao was a pumpkin—green for DP on the surface but yellow within, loyal in spirit to the ruling NRM.
Now firmly in the NRM cabinet, Mao appears to have embraced that image, but rather than squash it, he and Mbidde are now cultivating it anew.
The two men stood side by side on April 29 at the DP headquarters in Kampala, offering a handshake and a message of reconciliation ahead of the party’s National Delegates Conference scheduled for May 30.
The occasion also marked Mao’s formal picking of nomination forms to seek a fourth term as DP president.
“What was between me and my deputy was a principled disagreement. What people were seeing were petty squabbles,” Mao told journalists.
“We have been talking with the vice president,” he added, as Mbidde nodded beside him.
But beneath the surface, the soil remains unsettled. Mao admitted their ideological rift has not entirely closed: “The disagreements are still there,” he said.
“We have agreed that the priority now is the Delegates Conference. Thereafter, the leadership of the party can make a decision.”
Mbidde has been openly critical of the 2022 cooperation agreement signed between DP and the ruling National Resistance Movement—a deal that led many party loyalists to accuse Mao of abandoning opposition ideals.
Mbidde has in recent weeks formally petitioned both Mao and DP Secretary General Gerald Siranda, seeking clearance to conduct public consultations on whether the party should withdraw from the agreement altogether.
Despite their differences, Mao praised Mbidde for his forthrightness, describing him not as an obstacle but as a necessary voice of reason within the party hierarchy.
“I don’t want a robot around me,” Mao said.
“I want someone who will say, ‘Mr President, that is wrong.’ I am happy to have someone like Mbidde who is always guiding me without necessarily being a yes-man.”
Siranda, who also attended the press briefing, joined the two leaders in projecting a spirit of cohesion.
For a party often derided as divided and dormant, the symbolic reunion could be a step toward regrowth—if not resolution.
As the DP readies itself for its May conference, the real harvest remains to be seen.
Will the pumpkins flourish, or rot on the vine? Either way, the seeds have been planted in full view. The leaves will be eaten at DP and the flesh from the Cabinet in NRM government.
The pumpkin lives on.
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