The DP was formed out of the religious and economic demographics that began to model politics in Buganda before Uganda's independence.

Buganda, like most parts of Africa before independence, had been visited by three key religious forces - the Roman Catholics, the Church of England (Protestant Christians), and Islam.

When Obote was overthrown in 1971 by Idi Amin, Benedicto Kiwanuka accepted a ministerial post in the new government.

The absence of the Kabaka Yekka party now made the DP the main political force in Buganda and southern Uganda, while the UPC consolidated its support in the north.

Paul Ssemogerere was a political novice but used the Buganda aspiration effectively and provided a significant challenge to the UPC led once again by Obote in the 1980 elections.

These elections are widely believed to have been rigged by the military junta that ruled Uganda after Amin in favour of Obote and the UPC.

A third political party, the Uganda Patriotic Movement (UPM) led by Yoweri Museveni, rejected the result and went to the bush to start a guerrilla war.

However one of the DP's younger leaders, Andrew Kayiira, did take up arms to fight the new government, joining an organisation called the Uganda Freedom Movement.

When Museveni came to power, he was able to outflank any support the DP retained in Buganda by allowing the Kabaka's son to return and be crowned as a ceremonial king.

They do fear that their small scale market gardening businesses, would be targeted by the NRM-No-Party-Home-grown democracy of Mr. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni who has enjoyed fiscal economic growth up to 6%.

His regime openly claims to want and need no foreign aid as Ugandans are happy to be sleeping well regardless of their surviving under poverty.