The repeat elections for the LC 1 Chairpersons Abayita Ababiri village, in Katabi Town Council in Wakiso District, have been cancelled by the Electoral Commission returning officer Mr Sam Agaba Rutemba over break out of violence.
The elections saw competition from incumbent chairperson Abayita Ababiri, Mr Abbey Ssebowa, face off with the National Resistance Movement’s (NRM’s) Fred Mulumba Bunkedeko for the position.
The commission officials stopped the election after scenes of violence erupted, following a number of Mulumba’s supporters breaking through the barrier and forcefully entered the polling area, which led to a confrontation with Ssebowa’s supporters.
Kaitesi Shamim, a resident alleged that the NRM had sought support from soldiers attached to the Uganda People’s Defence Soldiers (UPDF), Special Forces Command (SFC) ), Kasenyi barracks to help them rig the election, which led to the violence.
“When we were lining up NRM people brought other people into the line who weren’t in the voter’s register and are not residents of Abaita Ababiri, which led to the confrontation leading to the voting cancellation, for now we don’t have a chairperson in Abaita” she said.
During the back and forth violence, one electoral commission official was injured and Mulumba’s polling agent, one Ms Shamirah Najjemba was allegedly beaten up by Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) soldiers allegedly on the orders of Katabi Town Council Mayor Franco Kajura Bwakya.
Mr Abbey Ssebowa, acknowledge the commission officials actions noting that violence started after one of the NRM polling agents created a way through the barrier allowing people to enter the voting area with voting slips already issued out to them.
However the Katabi Town Council Mayor on the NRM ticket, Mr Franco Kajura Bwakya, expressed disappointment with the commission officials over cancelling the repeat election, noting that the party had won the initial election held on July 30th, and hoped to win the repeat election.
“This is not the first time that Abayita Ababiri is holding an election. This is a repeat. The first one, I’m very sure that NRM had won this election. there was a petition and the election was nullified” he said.
He added, “Today we are repeating. However, there were, I think, hiccups here and there, which the Electoral Commission had not cleared, and the residents on one side protested, and it has been postponed to next week”.
By the time of this publication, the commission was yet to issue a statement on the election.
