The Minister for the Presidency and MP Budiope West, Hon. Babirye Milly Babalanda, has promised to hold accountable security officers responsible for shooting dead of two youthful men during the recent highly contested Village (LC 1) Chairpersons elections in Buwenge Town Council, Jinja District.
The incident occurred on Tuesday, July 28, at the Buwenge Progressive Academy polling station in Kabi Zone, when clashes broke out and security officers opened fire.
While representing President Yoweri Museveni at the burials of the deceased identified as Fred Kalulu, 19, a resident of Market Zone in Buwenge Town Council, who died at the scene, and Latibu Ikaali, 23, who later succumbed to gunshot injuries at Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, Hon Babalanda, conveyed the President’s condolences to the bereaved families and the people of Buwenge.
“The President was saddened by this loss of life. Government will ensure that investigations are conducted and that those responsible are held accountable according to the law” she said.
Hon Babalanda, condemned acts of violence during elections and urged security officers to embrace peace and use established dispute resolution mechanisms rather than shedding blood.
“This term, we shall not tolerate officers who are sleeping on job and I assured the community of Buwenge to take immediate disciplinary action against the area RDCs who failed to handle the situation and also failed to report or ask for assistance before the incident” she said.
She added, “Elections are about choosing leaders, not about shedding blood. As RDCs, Police and other security agencies, must ensure that such incidents do not happen whenever polling exercises are on”.
The minister further directed area leaders and security agencies to mobilize the community for peace sensitization, and delivered UGX 15 million to each bereaved family, with UGX 10 million coming from President Museveni and UGX 5 million from the Inspector General of Police.
“I commiserate with the families of the deceased during this difficult time and apologise on behalf of the government for such an incident that caused deaths for their loved ones by our officers’ recklessness” she said.
