Kawempe North Member of Parliament Elias Luymbazi Nalukoola.
Newly-elected Kawempe North Member of Parliament Erias Nalukoola has said his victory was borne out of brutality, intimidation of the electorate and bloodshed meted against his supporters. “Our win was overshadowed by the mockery of democracy, manifested by militarisation of our electoral process, brutality, and intimidation, but we managed to win with unmatched courage,” he said.
Mr Nalukoola, the flagbearer of the Opposition National Unity Platform (NUP), garnered 17,764 votes (64.37 percent), defeating NRM’s Ms Faridah Nambi who was second with 8,593 votes (31.2 percent) and other eight candidates.
Mr Nalukoola told Daily Monitor that the combat vehicles and armoured personnel carriers, which were a feature in Kawempe North on Election Day, were meant to scare voters to vote for the NRM candidate. “Goons, shielded by armed forces, brutalised citizens for exercising their civic duty.
Yet, you cast your votes and guarded them fiercely, frustrating their attempts to silence your voices. This is the spirit we must carry into the General Election,” he said. Last week, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces, appeared to support security officers, who were filmed with masked faces during the election.
“The best picture I have seen all the week…., I got his name and rank, tomorrow I am promoting him for the excellent service to UPDF,” he commented on a picture of one of the armed men.
Mr Nalukoola demanded that all security officers who brutalised people during the election be brought to book. “Security forces have neither acknowledged their wrongdoing norheld their officers accountable.
Instead, they seek to reward those who brutalised journalists and our supporters. If you are proud of these actions, reward them publicly. Let us see the faces of those who “serve” through violence,” he recommended.
“Museveni’s legacy, borne from a guerrilla war against election malpractices, now perpetuates the same injustices. His party threatens a legal battle against our victory, shamelessly accusing us of rigging despite overwhelming evidence. But if we triumph amidst their violence, we will defeat them in court,” he added.
Mr Joel Ssenyonyi, the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, yesterday tasked the Electoral Commission (EC) to come out and explain to the country the shortcomings that happened in Kawempe.
“We are putting on the spot Justice Simon Byabakama, the EC chairperson, to come out clearly and provide answers to the wondering general public, their silence makes us worry whether they were in charge of the election or they were instead influenced,” he said.
Adding: “There are answers we need immediately for EC, on high levels of human rights violations on innocent people and journalists, we demand answers, in the history of Uganda we have never witnessed such a devastating moment.”
Mr Kyagulanyi, the NUP president, condemned the interference by government officials in the electoral process, stating that they demeaned the integrity and core values of what they were expected to be doing.
“We used the Kawempe North by-election as the official launch of the protest vote, we are now more than ready for the 2026 General Election, and we shall implement the values of unity as we exhibited in this era, I call upon all interested people to take up positions at all levels starting from LC1, we are taking the presidency we should remain united,” he added.orm.
