Top leaders of the NRM are scheduled to meet on Sunday, in an attempt to resolve a power struggle in Uganda’s ruling party between factions loyal to President Yoweri Museveni and those aligned to Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi.

Government spokesman Ofwono Opondo told The EastAfrican that the meeting of the NRM Central Executive Committee (CEC) was called to discuss a resolution passed by the party parliamentary caucus endorsing President Museveni as the party’s sole candidate for the 2016 elections.

“The caucus resolved that they would explain the 22 resolutions, although the media is only focusing on one. At the retreat, ministers also made sectoral progress reports and that will be discussed too,” Mr Opondo said.

READ: How NRM legislators plotted Museveni’s 2016 bid

“The Sunday meeting will also come out with a message to the members. There were 22 resolutions; does each MP pick what to say or do they go with one message? The meeting will also answer that,” he added.

It will be the second CEC meeting in a week, and it follows two tumultuous NRM parliamentary caucuses at which MPs loyal to President Museveni openly accused Mr Mbabazi of using his position as party secretary general to mobilise political support for himself and his alleged presidential ambitions.

The fall-out between the two factions was not discussed at a CEC meeting at State House Entebbe on Tuesday, but sources said the matter is likely to come up when the party’s top executive meets.

“We have been told to ensure all members are present at that meeting; the decision will be made whether to allow him to hold both positions or relinquish one,” a CEC member, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorised to speak on behalf of the party, said. “If he fails, the members will decide for him in a vote. We have agreed that I will move that we vote on the issue if he fails to decide.”

NRM chief whip Justine Lumumba is expected to formally present the caucus resolution to the CEC, including a proposal to delegate some of Mr Mbabazi’s work as secretary general to Richard Todwong, a Cabinet minister without a portfolio.

The proposal was arrived at as a compromise, after anti-Mbabazi elements in the party failed to force him to resign from one of his two positions at an earlier meeting. CEC is expected to debate the caucus decision.

President Museveni has accused Mr Mbabazi’s wife Jacqueline, who is the chairperson of the NRM Women’s League and a member of CEC, of using her position to mobilise support for her husband. In a rejoinder sent to this newspaper last week, Ms Mbabazi said the NRM was demonstrating “fascist tendencies” in targeting her husband and trying to force him to resign from his elected position.

READ: Mbabazi’s wife calls Uganda’s NRM ‘fascist’

Mike Mukula, the party vice president for eastern Uganda, said he supports the idea of a full-time party secretary-general.

“The NRM is the largest political party and it is a grassroots-based party, so there is need for a full-time person,” he said in a telephone interview.

“In Tanzania, Ghana, South Africa, Rwanda, Kenya and many other countries, the large political parties have full-time secretary generals to make sure that the party is active and strong.”

However, William Nokrach, an MP and NRM commissioner, said the issue had become unnecessarily divisive.

“It is not a big issue if a person holds two positions; the issue is delegation of the roles. Human resource is a big problem and it is not easy to replace people or build resources. Right now, the way forward is to build cohesion and find ways of solving conflicts,” he said.

Pro-Mbabazi officials are expected to argue that he is being unfairly singled out as other party officials who serve in Cabinet and executive positions are not under pressure to resign.

Asked whether his views applied to other party officials including President Museveni who is head of state and party chairman, Mr Mukula said: “For the position of the chairman, it’s historical; the President is playing a historical role, but in future we shall review that as well. The party cannot afford full-time employees, so it’s not possible to ask every one to play a full-time role.”

Barbara Among and Daniel Kalinaki