FDC supporters riot over Jinja MP results
Armoured personnel carriers patrol Jinja Town after FDC supporters protested the declaration of Mr Nathan Nabeta as winner of the Jinja Municipality East parliamentary seat. Photo by Denis Edema
Jinja.
A joint force of riot police and the army were yesterday involved in running battles with supporters of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) in Jinja moments after Mr Nathan Igeme Nabeta of the NRM was declared winner of the Jinja Municipality East parliamentary seat.
Armed security personnel fired teargas to disperse the protesting FDC supporters. The district returning officer, Mr Anthony Mwaita, declared Mr Nabeta winner with 7,770 votes against FDC’s Paul Mwiru’s 7,635.
The declaration of Mr Nabeta came after days of simmering tension between rival supporters who had pitched camp at the district tally centre since Friday morning on suspicion that vote tallying was being manipulated.
On Friday evening, security officers ordered rival supporters to leave the precincts of the tally centre at the district headquarters. Security operatives cordoned off the area and closed all the roads leading to the tally centre.
A disagreement ensued between Mr Mwiru and Mr Nabeta over the difference in number of votes each polled at Masese Danida Community Centre Polling Station.
Mr Mwiru presented the results declaration forms indicating he had got 226 votes at the polling station and Nabeta had 186. But Mr Nabeta’s results declaration forms indicated that he had obtained 507 votes at the same polling station.
The returning officer at the weekend was forced to cancel results from the said polling station and tallied the rest of the results, culminating in declaring Mr Nabeta winner yesterday, triggering the riots.
The police and soldiers, some moving in armoured personnel carriers, known as Mamba, backed up by others on foot patrol engaged Mr Mwiru’s supporters who took to the streets to protest the outcome.
Mr Mwiru’s supporters hurled stones at those of Mr Nabeta, forcing the police to intervene.
The heavy downpour pounding the town during lunchtime caused a lull in the clashes but the protesters regrouped at around 3pm, forcing businesses in the town to close.
The district police commander, Mr Felix Mugizi, said one person was arrested over the chaos but declined to give the identity.
