Museveni letter on Bukedea poll rigging, violence stirs up debate
Supporters help Mr David Steven Omagor after he was attacked in Bukedea District last month . PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- In the recent Bukedea LCV by-election, the NRM‘s Mary Akol was declared the winner with 79,692 votes, followed by Independent candidate Lokwiisk Tychicus Ebukalin who got 4,941 votes while the Forum for Democratic Change’s Oita Sam Odeke came a distant third with 2,343 votes.
President Museveni’s letter ordering an investigation into the flaws that marred the Bukedea LC5 by-election has kicked up a fresh debate in Teso over the polls.
Other leaders, however, said President Museveni’s reaction two weeks after the by-election was a postmortem with no helpful results.
In the recent Bukedea LCV by-election, the NRM‘s Mary Akol was declared the winner with 79,692 votes, followed by Independent candidate Lokwiisk Tychicus Ebukalin who got 4,941 votes while the Forum for Democratic Change’s Oita Sam Odeke came a distant third with 2,343 votes.
Mr Benson Ekwee, the executive director for Public Affairs Uganda (PAC), a national civil society governance watchdog, told this paper on Saturday that the by-election was a total mess and an embarrassment to President Museveni and his party.
He said the President could be conscious of the far-reaching ramifications of this shameful act and could be looking for an escape route.
“The Bukedea mess reflects badly on [Mr] Museveni’s revolutionary history and the reasons for the bloody guerrilla war that endeared him to power, so it is a contradiction of sorts,” Mr Ekwee said, adding that the other perspective is that he is secretly celebrating and merely posturing.
In a June 26 letter addressed to Brig Gen Henry Isoke, the head of the State House Anti–Corruption Unit, Mr Museveni raised issues that took place both before and during the election on June 14.
The Bukedea LCV chairperson seat fell vacant after the demise of Moses Olemukan in December 2022.
The gap drew interest from seven aspirants, however, due to alleged intimidation from NRM bigwigs in Bukedea, only three people got nominated.
On the eve of his nomination on June 4, Mr David Steven Omagor, an accountant by profession, was allegedly attacked by men in police uniform at his residence in Emokor Ward.
The men reportedly fled with his nomination documents and Shs163m that he hoped to use to facilitate his campaigns.
On appeal, the EC allowed Mr Omagor to be nominated on June 6. But despite succeeding in putting back his nomination documents together, he was again attacked by more than 50 goons at the EC offices under the watch of police, leaving him struggling for his dear life. His papers were taken for the second time.
Mr Museveni in his letter said he is disturbed about the by-election where the NRM candidate won with 91 percent and the voter turnout was 87 percent.
“I was, of course happy for my party to perform so well. However, I am getting information that government officials on the night of the nomination invaded the house of Mr David Steven Omagor, confiscated his academic papers, and stole Shs163m from him so that he could not be nominated the following morning,’’ Mr Museveni said.
He added that the Electoral Commission had to extend the nomination days when he ( Mr Omagor) appealed, but even then when he went for nomination, he was attacked at the gate of the EC. It is also alleged that on election day, government officials invaded polling stations and voted on behalf of the voters.
“This sounds like a film. However, I want to be sure that Uganda does not go back to the crime of 1980, with Mwanga elections that forced us to go to the bush, therefore, investigate these claims and if any criminality was committed, take action and report back,” the President further indicated in the letter.
Mr Museveni said such actions are not only electoral offenses but are also criminal. “I am, therefore, directing you to handle the criminals.’’
Mr Omagor told this publication on Saturday that Uganda is a country for all of us, and we should all live in it, with equal rights.
“If it is the President who authored the letter [on election malpractice], I am happy,” he said.
Mr Albert Emokoki, the NRM mobiliser in Kidongole Sub-county, Bukedea District, said the President should be supported to restore sanity in “our electoral system.”
“In Bukedea, we live in a situation where when elections are going to take place, it is a time to fear for our lives, otherwise, this exercise should be peaceful,” Mr Emokoki said.
Mr Ebukalin, an Independent candidate, said on June 4, when Mr Omagor was first attacked, he had to spend a night in a pit-latrine to evade planned arrests to deny him the nomination.
Ms Mariam Natasha, the spokesperson for the State House Anti-Corruption Unit, said she could not readily confirm whether the President was the source of the letter.
Mr Farouk Kirunda, the Deputy Senior Presidential Press Secretary, confirmed to the Daily Monitor that the letter is authentic, but declined to give any comment.
Mr Emmanuel Dombo, the director of communications for the NRM party, said they applaud the President for taking such an action.
“We should patiently wait for the report and if the President chooses to make it public, the better.”
