The Electoral Commission (EC) has indicated that President Yoweri Museveni and the leader of National Unity Platform (NUP), Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine crisscrossing each other in Kayunga would potentially spur clashes between their supporters.

At a pre-election briefing of the stakeholders held at Kayunga district council hall on Wednesday, the EC chairperson, Justice Simon Byabakama revealed that the district returning officer, Jenifer Kyobutungi, consulted him for guidance after it emerged that the two may be in the district at the same time arousing fears of their supporters clashing.

Kayunga voters are going to the polls on Thursday to replace the former Kayunga LC5 chairperson Mohamed Ffeffeka Sserubogo of NUP who died mysteriously a few days after swearing-in on June 16, 2021.

On security grounds, the police on Tuesday morning sealed off Bobi Wine’s Magere-based residence, a day after the Police spokesperson, Fred Enanga, indicated that he would not be allowed to campaign for the party candidate, Harriet Nakweede in Kayunga district.

The NUP supporters including the party candidate and the Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake have since alleged that they were assaulted by the security forces as they blocked the party supporters’ procession in Kayunga town as Museveni made his way to Kayunga to campaign for the party candidate Andrew Muwonge.

On Tuesday, Museveni convened meetings of a few party leaders and mobilisers at Kayonza Primary School Play Grounds and Busaana town council in a bid to consolidate the support of the party candidate a head of the Thursday polls.

“It is good for political leaders to always inform the electoral commission whenever they are going to campaign for their party candidates so that the electoral commission can arrange for them different days to avoid possible clashes with their opponents,” he said.

Byabakama revealed that in this case, the NRM had officially informed the commission that their party chairman had planned to visit the district to campaign for their candidate.

According to Byabakama , it was necessary to revisit the campaign programme and cancelled Nakweede’s campaign program in Kayunga town council.

“The president is a very special person because he puts on the court of the Head of State and at the same time as the NRM party chairman we had to honor his planned campaign program since there was no other party leader who had informed us that he or she was going to campaign in Kayunga town council,” Byabakama explained.

NUP through its head of mobilization, Fred Nyanzi had earlier protested before the EC chairman the decision by the security agencies to ban Bobi Wine from campaigning in Kayunga citing a biased electoral process.

“The action of blocking our party president from campaigning for our candidate alarmed us so much and we were left contemplating on whether the EC is in charge of this election process,” Nyanzi said.

The Kayunga Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Ssempala Kigozi, explained the decision to block Bobi Wine saying that Bobi Wine was given all the time to campaign before but he didn’t show-up but instead chose to wait for the day the President will be in the district which couldn’t be accepted.

The President according to Kigozi booked his campaign schedule in the district two weeks ago.

 “We have been preparing for him therefore we couldn’t allow to have him interrupted by anybody,” he said.