Uganda – Some reports from the Local Primaries Election in the NRM-Party

If you thought the weekends reactions to the FDC party and their struggles to do party work and campaigning that has been an issue for a long time. The interesting about what I have seen and gotten news about, is how the Police and the Public is reacting in the ruling NRM-Party! While doing their duties to vote in the Primaries Election. So they can pick the ones to elect their own local leaders and who set to represent their area and a possible MP in the future. NRM-Regime goes even too far with the rigging and malpractices with the NRM Electoral Process and Commission who let this practices happening. We can see what has happen today and the reports are staggering, also with the former day’s events in Ngarama and Lwengo. All of the reports from National Resistance Movement Primaries should be seen as a warning. This is not looking good and with all the reactions the results and local disarray can be seen as the people see through the malpractices and rigging.

First issues – Ngarama:

“Supporters of Mr Benon Matsiko Kyampa, who was contesting for NRM flag for Ngarama LC3 top seat stormed the sub-county headquarters where they abandoned their party cards protesting poll results announced by the sub-county registrar, Mr Robert Baingana, in favour of Mr Silver Kiiza”. This led to even rubber bullets and agony in the district. So the way the police is used to quell issues is really a pattern. Which lead to this: “The deputy RDC Isingiro, Mr Damiano Turyatunga, said they will investigate why police fired bullets and will ensure calm is restored in the area” (Mugume, 2015).

Second issues – Lwengo:

“Ruling NRM party supporters in Lwengo District have threatened to boycott party primary elections over alleged inflation of voters registers. The supporters claim that a big number of registers in the district have been bloated with names of people who are not NRM supporters- something they say is a plot to rig votes in favour of some candidates” (…)”Ms Nakabira said she had discovered that some NRM village registers contain several names than those in the national voters register of the Electoral Commission. “Our party electoral commission should not bother bringing election materials to Lwengo District if they fail to sort out this mess. It will be a political suicide to take part in an election where registers have been filled up with ghost names,” she said” (Malik, 2015).

There have been reports that the District Leader George Mutabazi has fled the offices and area with the ballot boxes.

Third Issue – Sembabule:

There been reports of fraud there in local elections as well and the NRM members couldn’t accept it. Therefore they set the NRM office on fire this 13.10.2015.

Fourth Issue – Kyannamukaaka, Masaka District:

Because of electoral issues and vote rigging NRM members has put on fire their member cards and also been as vile as peeing on Museveni T-Shirts as an reactions to rigging of the local elections. More from the Masaka District is that NRM has withheld the elections results and the reasons are that the winners in the district are suspected to be friendly to Amama Mbabazi. This is happening today!

Also from another source is this:

“This afternoon, Masaka District NRM party Registrar declared Ssekiwala winner after polling 2664 votes against Ssebulas 1780 votes. However, the declaration of Ssekiwala as winner has not gone down well with Ssebulas supporters” (Bindhe, 2015).

Fifth Issue:

There was another NRM office that was lit on fire. This was Isingiro on Sunday 3: AM, it apparently destroyed the older files from 2011 Elections and a dozen other party official papers.

Second Source:

“She however, wants the complaints to produce evidence to substantiate their claims of rigging” (…)”Angry voters throwing pelting NRM party cards after disagreeing with NRM party officials at Endinzi sub county headquarters in Isingiro district” (Kabasongora, 2015).

Six issue – Bundibugyo:

“According to Idrisa, initially, Kifunga announced Steven Mugisa as the winners of the Bubukwanga Sub County chairperson NRM party ticket but later altered the results and declared his rival George Baluku” (Muhindo, 2015).

Praise for the NRM Electoral Commission:

While this has happen during the elections in the NRM there are certain people who are impressed by the work. MP Cecilia Ogwal said: “”Dr. Odoi should be reassigned to assist Kiggundu because what he is doing is so impressive” (…)”We feel the impact of their confusion and I want the process to be peaceful” (Okino, 2015).

We can all see that there is a tone in the day and recent days when it comes to the NRM Primaries. The results and reactions show the issues that this Primaries Elections in the NRM are turning into a farce. Where the actual election doesn’t really matter and members of the party feels fooled. Therefore going into means that are harsh realities are not sinking in.

This is important when the ruling elite and the main NRM-Regime are shielding in a way. They are shielding the elite and handpicking their loyal candidates, but not the ones that might be wished from the grassroot-organization who might want another candidate and get a change of leadership. With the rigging happening then the exercise and voting is just a planned move so that it looks like a democratic choice. That is what is happening if you score away the local constituencies from picking their men or woman to be representatives. This is what has happen. And that makes the process illegitimate. The representative won’t actual represent the people, but the rigging Electoral Commission of the NRM. The Local Council and MPs might be “elected”, but in reality just picked by the Commission not the people of the Party and Organization. When there has already been famous for the rigging of the General Election in 2011. This here is a new low. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni party is rigging itself and people are reacting. This can only get more interesting. Just as this picture from a Cell in a Prison where they kept the Electoral Ballot Boxes for the Primaries in the area. This was taken photo from somebody kept in Prison of the FDC. Peace.  

Reference:

Bindhe, Edward – ‘Angry NRM Supporters Burn, Urinate on Museveni T-Shirts’ (13.10.2015) Link: http://ugandaradionetwork.com/story/rioting-nrm-losers-burn-cards-urinate-at-museveni-t-shirts-as-pro-mbabazi-candidates-denied-victory#ixzz3oSx6lNLZ

Mugume, Chris – ‘Residents throw away NRM cards over vote rigging’ (09.10.2015) link: http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Residents-throw-away-NRM-cards-over-vote-rigging/-/688334/2905272/-/pmw73q/-/index.html

Okino, Patrick – ‘Ogwal praises ‘impressive’ work done by Odoi’ (13.10.2015) link: http://www.elections.co.ug/new-vision/election/1343246/ogwal-praises-impressive-odoi

Malik, Fahad Jjingo – ‘NRM voters threaten polls boycott’ (13.10.2015) link: http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/NRM-voters-threaten-polls-boycott/-/688334/2910484/-/ra7fg1/-/index.html

Muhindo, Patrick – ‘Bundibugyo NRM Members Return Cards Citing Mismanagement of Primaries’ (13.10.2015) Link: http://ugandaradionetwork.com/story/bundibugyo-nrm-members-return-cards-over-mismanagement-of-party-primaries#ixzz3oSy1V3SW

Kabasongora, Mariam – ‘NRM Officials Rush to Bukanga County to Calm Down Angry Voters’ (13.10.2015) Link: http://ugandaradionetwork.com/story/nrm-leaders-security-team-rush-to-bukanga-county-to-quell-tension-among-angry-voters-#ixzz3oSyUjfPS

A Weekend where the Police is creating havoc in Uganda and the FDC is the prey.

It’s been two days since the 53rd Independence Day in Uganda. Yesterday was a day of mayhem from the Police against the political party of FDC. They trashed the cars and sent people who were going to the event in Rukungiri. On the road in the Greater Masaka area DPC Maximal Ogwang even put metal trenches to stop the cars. The pictures from yesterday tell its tale. The FDC  people that had issues with the police and also got into trouble because of their travels was Hon. Godfrey Ekanya, Hon. Patrick Amuriat, Fred Turya, Dr. Kizza Besigye, Hon. Amuriat Semujju and Hon. Kevina Taaka.

In Rukungiri this led to arrests of unnamed people who were a part of the organization who was setting up the equipment for the event and arrangement. DPC Wotwali just followed ordered from up high.

The day before the NRM had issues in another district. This after the NRM-Regime got in trouble with vote rigging. “Supporters of Mr Benon Matsiko Kyampa, who was contesting for NRM flag for Ngarama LC3 top seat stormed the sub-county headquarters where they abandoned their party cards protesting poll results announced by the sub-county registrar, Mr Robert Baingana, in favour of Mr Silver Kiiza”. This led to even rubber bullets and agony in the district. So the way the police is used to quell issues is really a pattern. Which lead to this: “The deputy RDC Isingiro, Mr Damiano Turyatunga, said they will investigate why police fired bullets and will ensure calm is restored in the area” (Mugume, 2015).

But let me go back to the troubles of the FDC:

And he did this because of this:

Press Release and Letter from the IGP Kale Kayihura

Later on the day the FDC men got released from the prisons they we’re put in. The worst was seeing the pictures of Fatuma Zaina was put on a truck and undressed in a display from the police that isn’t justified anywhere in the world.

In Rukungiri the people who were supposed to attend even went to the Police station to get the people freed from custody. The reports I have has said that even the people was jailed where freed after the reactions from the people in the town.

In the same time as this happen to the opposition the President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni said this in Gulu:

“It is that if the country is going into election, some ‘people’ threaten violence, Uganda has long passed that kind of nonsense that portrays backwardness” (…)”I thought in elections you just talk and convince people, but in any case you want to cause violence, we also know how we shall deal with you because we shall not tolerate it” (Makumbi & Ocungi, 2015).

So the actions happening in the rest of the country towards the FDC is in his own words backwards. IGP Kale Kayihura has gone back in time and dropped the knowledge of oppressive behavior and misuse of the Public Order Management Act (POMA). That is because the President himself must fear the power of the FDC since he even gets the DPC to destroy the cars of they have.

To an extent yesterday the Danish Ambassador of Uganda had to go to the police and got Dr. Kizza Besigye and other FDC members out of prison. That tells the dire straits of the lawfulness. The Police of Uganda even drove him back to Kampala after the incidents on the road from Rukugiri. The same day after similar incident his own car was towed to Lyantonde. Where it surely still is sitting since the Police destroyed and trashed a few cars likes of Hon. Ekanya and Hon. Wafula.

Today this Sunday the 11^th October there been report that the once who got the FDC leaders out of prison in Lyantonde has themselves ended up in cells there. This people are FDC chairman in town Yusuf Matovu, Woman’s secretary of town Yudaya Naiga and Chairman of the Town-Council Richard Kayondo. The DPC in the area must be irritated man and need some love!

The brutality and sadness of reporting this! But somebody got to show the suspect behavior that continues into a brutality that is inhumane. The way they crashed the cars and undressed a certain FDC woman is insane!

Kizza-Besigye said”It’s very clear that the NRM and Museveni Police and Electoral Commission are intent on denying the opposition a chance fair chance to compete. This further underlines the fundamental importance of fighting for political reforms. It further shows why we must have a defiant campaign”.

I also will show back to something I even wrote a time back. Read this:

President Yoweri Kaguta Musveni Campaign of Fear

The must be a change from the Police and NRM-Regime. The way the FDC political leaders, men and woman of the political party treatment are dire and sadden. Nothing about the recent events is about justice and rule of law. IGP Kale Kayihura and his DPC have taken the levels of bullishness to another level.

What happen on the road and convoys of FDC personnel is just astonishing. The way the cars and upon cars with police in Rukungiri and the way they shut it down was insane. The warnings and arguments from the IGP is misuse of the POMA law. Amama Mbabazi must be sad the way he argued for the law a few years back.

Refering the POMA as this: “A short trip back in history will show that the POMA was designed in the heat of the Walk-to-Work (W2W) protests led by opposition leader Colonel Kizza Besigye. Besigye has thrice stood against President Museveni, with the latest controversial poll on 18 February 2011 being won by the incumbent. In a broad sense, the POMA can therefore be referred to as the ‘Anti-Besigye Act’ or the ‘ABA’, as it was clearly designed to tighten the grip of the Police and security forces in the wake of the protests which rocked the country in the aftermath of the election” (…)”Secondly, the ABA/POMA places an inordinate degree of discretionary power in the police, and specifically in the inspector general. This is obviously problematic because it makes the IGP prosecutor and judge in his own case, violating basic principles of natural justice. Thirdly, the law gives lower-ranking police officers the perfect excuse not to take action which supports human rights. Rather, they are encouraged to curtail them. Hence, the first words out of the mouths of officers charged with breaking up an opposition demonstration are: ‘I’m (simply) acting on orders from above’” (Oloka-Onyango, 2014).

POMA is used as the Anti-FDC law and give the token to Police to cross all levels of human dignity to against the opposition. The way this weekend has unfolded and the way the words has been said. Justice it’s not. Dignity isn’t something the NRM-Regime is showing to the world. The way and run up to the election will be violent. Not because the Opposition is gripping and being violent. It’s because the Ugandan Police Force is using rubber bullets, tear-gas and undressing woman in broad daylight. Also trashing cars and showing it’s true color. Museveni isn’t a man who can be proud of his loyal cronies. Since the actions are just dire and sad. The grips of power are now put into a state where the state is using the force and laws in ways that shouldn’t have occurred. This will light the fire of the opposition and give more energy to the struggle against the NRM-Regime. Not because the Opposition is always right. But because the NRM-Regime is so wrong and acting so insincere. There no justice in the vile attempt to secure peace.

The IGP Kale Kayihura and Yoweri Kaguta Museveni need a reality check. The recent events happen on their watch and the world is watching. People like me won’t accept that. Peace.

Reference:

Mugume, Chris – ‘Residents throw away NRM cards over vote rigging’ (09.10.2015) link: http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Residents-throw-away-NRM-cards-over-vote-rigging/-/688334/2905272/-/pmw73q/-/index.html

Makumbi, Cissy & Ocungi, Julius – ‘No violence in 2016 election – Museveni’ (11.10.2015) link: http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/No-violence-in-2016-election—Museveni/-/688334/2907504/-/4chm5c/-/index.html

Oloka-Onyango – ‘Understanding the genesis and impact of recent legislation in Uganda’ (05.01.2014) link: http://www.pambazuka.net/en/category.php/features/91567/print