The funeral of former North Mugirango/Borabu MP Okeri Masanya scheduled on Friday will see battle of supremacy between two rival Ford People factions.
Masanya was a member of the party which has been facing endless wrangles following the fallout between former ousted chairman Henry Obwocha and interim chairman Mwancha Okioma, a onetime Kitutu Masaba MP.
Speaking to the reporter on Monday in an exclusive interview, Okioma warned his rivals against hijacking the programme, saying it won’t go unchallenged.
“He (Masanya) was a life member of the party as legitimate officials, we are entitled to giving him a nice send off,” Okioma said.
“As interim chair, I am in contact with the family and I will not allow anyone to hijack the program. That is a party affair and I am closely involved in program making to lock out any controversy,” he added.
However, thorough a text message to the writer, ousted chairman Henry Obwocha urged party supporters to ignore ‘intruders’ and insisted everything is under his control.
“There is no need to panic because party supporters know the legitimately elected team. I am the chairperson and I am always in contact with the family. We will not allow intruders to hijack the programme,” read the statement.
The two rival’s factions have been trading accusations since later December 2015 when Okioma took over the party leadership forcefully.