Dr. Michael Lulume Bayiga, the Buikwe South MP, has outlined reasons why he left the Democratic Party (DP) for the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF).
Speaking to Bbeg Media, Bayiga, who balances his medical practice with a political career, said he left the DP because the party, once built on democratic principles of truth, justice, constitutionalism, and the rule of law, had shifted its priorities and resisted necessary reforms—a stance he and other reformers could not accept.
He said the Mbarara conference was a deliberate effort to expose Mao’s leadership failures.
“We went intentionally to the Mbarara Delegates Conference in order to expose Norbert Mao,” Bayiga noted, adding that the PFF had emerged as a “command center for liberation” where he could reconnect with experienced political allies, including old friends, brothers, and sisters.
Bayiga’s grievances with Mao also stemmed from Mao’s decision to sign a cooperation agreement with the National Resistance Movement (NRM) government under President Museveni.
Bayiga expressed regret for his time in the DP under Norbert Mao’s leadership. He accused Mao of undermining the party’s constitution and rigging elections at the recent Mbarara Delegates Conference, where he and other reform-minded members were allegedly beaten and brutalized for voicing dissent on the need for political reforms within the party.
“This is our new environment that we shall use to get rid of the junta,” Bayiga declared, signaling his commitment to the PFF’s mission.
