Kawempe North By-Election: A memo on the run-up to the polls tomorrow

The ones believing in a free and fair by-election they are in for a reckoning tomorrow. The authorities and the law enforcement is in high alert. Tomorrow is D-DAY and that will be inevitable clear. There is no subtle message or sincere acts of the government in this regard. That’s why they defend the indefensible and accepts the brutality against civilians. This is just who the government is and how it operates.

This By-Election is a sign of how botched and brutal the up-coming elections will be in 2026. The ones believing things will be better in the campaign period or during the elections road-map are false. There will only be more hurt, pain and suffering. The ones who dares to take up the banners, flag-bearers and activists on the grounds. Those are the ones who will be touched and will feel the pinch. That’s the bleak reality and Kawempe North By-Election only shows it and spells it out.

This by-election is marred with election interference, intimidation, voter buying and usage of brutal force to stifle the opposition. The opposition and the ones who dared to be in the public eye. Those got a taste of the violence and what the law enforcement does in the name of “rule of law” or the “correct way”.

This is just who the National Resistance Movement (NRM) is in 2026. It is just what the NRA fought for and how it wants to kids of 1986s Generation to get elected. The NRM shows its ugly face and how it runs government. The Electoral Commission, the Police Force and even Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) is all at play in this. They are all doing the bidding of the NRM and are there on behalf of them. Not to be security, but to work for the will of the President and his appointed cronies. They all danced, went door-to-door and even gave bank-notes to possible voters. That’s just what the NRM does in election season.

We can act like this By-Election is different than all the others, but it is mere reflection of all the previous ones too. It is just what this sort of ordeals has become. The NRM has created these games and mockery of “democratic values” while arresting, detaining and tear-gassing the opposition. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister says the voters has to vote “NRM” to have a “direct line to the President”. Because that you only get through a NRM MP. I am sure plenty of districts or counties with NRM MPs feels left behind or never gotten a pledge through Parliament or even fulfilled by Presidential Donations for that matter. So, we know the PM lies on stage while she pushed a kid of Mr. Update to get sympathy and use the legacy of the man the state killed incarceration. That’s how cold these cronies of the President is and willing to do to further the cause of the state. Nothing is holy and nothing is to far for them.

We know there will be pre-ticked ballots, polling agents arrested and possibly a “black-out” of sorts. We know the army will be on the streets and the law enforcement will go harshly out tomorrow. There will be nothing good really… they want a low turnout, as that will be beneficial for the NRM. As this is a stronghold for the opposition. Though don’t expect anything positive to come out. Expect house-arrests and leaders of the opposition in trouble tomorrow. That’s what is coming. There would be road-blocks and other technical precautions too. They will make Kampala a war-zone and we have seen it before too.

The roads to Kawempe North will be hectic and hostile. That’s what is coming and it is all over a seat in Parliament. A seat that is only up for grabs for a few months before it is time for re-election. That’s the double tragedy in this, because the electorate has to go through this again and they have already been punished by the pressure and the attacks on civilians during the campaigns ahead of the polls. It just shows the character and the heart of the government, which is lacking. That is proven and we can all state that in 2025. Peace.

Kawempe North By-Election: The final NRM rally shows the sinister act of the state

The National Resistance Movement (NRM) used all tricks of the trade on the final days of campaign. As the acknowledgement of what is happening to the National Unity Platform (NUP).

We know the NRM acts like it is all sealed and they are winning in the Kawempe North By-Election on the 13^th March 2025 polls. This is after the campaign of the NRM of Faridah Nambi has gone on full steam. Meanwhile, we see how the authorities, the police force and JAT are acting towards the opposition.

We know the pictures of the rally at Mbogo Muslim Primary School Grounds will look supreme. Nevertheless, the NRM has no trouble using the force or power to silence the others. Alas, we can see that, and this is just to common occurrence.

The NUP was blocked from holding their rally. The vehicle of their candidate crashed into, and he was arrested after that. The Police Force went in full swing and stopped the NUP from ending the campaign in fanfare. That was only for the NRM to do.

This just shows how the “playing field” and the NRM acts towards their biggest rivals. As the NUP is in a headache, but the NRM pays several of musicians to warm up the stage for their candidate. The President cannot have a smaller rally or be humiliated by the NUP. That’s why this all went down.

We have seen in previous elections with President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni holding rallies in the same towns and counties with Besigye. The Besigye rallies was blocked and sealed off. Now the same happened in the Kawempe North By-Election. This is a pattern, and they did this deliberately.

Bebe Cool and Minister Balaam cannot save the day. We know they will preach the message of the state. They will entertain for His Excellency, but this doesn’t make this truer. As we saw for what it is.

The ones not getting the gist. The NUP was blocked, because the President himself held a final rally for his candidate. That’s why NUP was brutally blocked and silenced ahead of their rally. They got different reports and communicated with the Police and Electoral Commission to hold it, but it didn’t matter.

President Museveni and NRM can act like it is all gold. They can act like it is all great, but we know the drill. This is just what it is. The ones believing in the lies and deception of the NRM. This sort of act is getting old.

We know why the NUP was treated so bad today. It is all because of His Excellency and his ego. The dictator had to show his power and greatness, but his ego is so vain that it must make other people suffer. Peace.

Kawempe North By-Election: Authorities crackdown on the NUP on the final day of campaigns… [Arrests Elias Luyimbazi Nalukoola again!]

“The wreckage of a police truck and NUP candidate for Kawempe North, Elias Luyimbazi Nalukoola’s car filmed at a crash scene along Gayaza road in Kawempe Division, Kampala after chaos broke out when police attempted to block NUP supporters from proceeding to their venue at Komamboga for their finally campaign rally ahead of March 13 by-election. Police fired teargas and live bullets to disperse NUP supporters. One person is said to have been injured with several arrested” (Daily Monitor, 11.03.2025)

“Police arrest NUP candidate for Kawempe North MP by-election, Elias Nalukoola Luyimbazi after he and his supporters were blocked from proceeding to Komamboga where he was scheduled to hold his last campaign rally ahead of the March 13 by-election. An unspecified number of his supporters were also arrested. One person sustained injuries as police fired teargas and live bullets to disperse NUP supporters” (Daily Monitor, 11.03.2025).

Just as the Inspector General of Police Abas Byakagaba appeared today in front of the Defence and Internal Affairs Committee in Parliament. Where he has the audacity to say these words, as we are seeing what the Police and the Authorities are doing on the streets.

Just reads this: “What I could add on this is that we don’t take any indiscipline lightly. Whatever happened, the contravening the laws is regrettable. And the action you have also mentioned, the processes are already going on and we shall not favour anybody and the law will take its course. And all this that is happening is work in progress. We shall continue improving where there are mistakes. And I think even when you allude to what is happening in Kawempe, I think from where it started is different from where it is. And that’s really a sign that we are concerned about to ensuring that we do the right thing when we are mandated to do our work” (Abas Byakagaba, 11.03.2025).

We are seeing how the Uganda Police Force (UPF) is destroying and taking charge in the midst of a campaign. A police force and authorities that has gone after the NUP directly. They have let the National Resistance Movement (NRM) do whatever it wants. We have seen the NRM Candidate even giving out money directly to voters. Meanwhile, the authorities stop, blocks and directly attacks the NUP convoys. That’s why we see results like this.

Today’s action is just showing the brutality and violence that is state sponsored. We saw the other day how peaceful a rally and a campaign the NUP can have in the Kawempe North. When they all appeared and had other party leaders a part of the rally too. We saw what the NUP can do when the UPF and JATT doesn’t interfere. However, today we saw the violence and misuse of power, which is modus operandi in the Republic.

Just like the NUP candidate was arrested after being nominated. His now arrested on his final day of campaigning before the polls of 13^th March 2025. No other candidate has gone through worse than him. Neither has any other supporter or such been treated in this manner. It just shows what the state offers and how it targets the opposition. The NUP is who they fear and that’s why they intimidate the NUP. It is a reason why the DP or the FDC isn’t getting this treatment in the Kawempe North By-Election. They fear the NUP, and this shows…

This is just tragic. This is just impunity and directed to silence the opposition. Peace.