NRM has plausible case against Kawempe byelection outcome

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OPINION

By Enoch Barata

The demise of Hon. Muhammad Ssegirinya was most unfortunate. His eponymous brand of politics endeared him to the masses and the community. He rose from the underclass and overcame several odds stacked against him to become elected as the lawmaker for Kawempe North.

While he struggled with ailing health while in prison, he became a victim of the political hoopla we have now become accustomed to that blurs the lines of truth and fiction, logic and sentiment. May Allah admit him with mercy and accept his good deeds.

The black letter law requires that when a Member of Parliament dies, the Electoral Commission (EC) holds an election to fill the vacancy if the time left to the expiry of the term of office exceeds six months. And so, the byelection for the Kawempe North Constituency became inevitable. The election was conducted on March 13, 2025, with 13 candidates vying for the post.

The elections pitting the NRM against NUP, whose campaign period transpired relatively well, generated a lot of controversy on Election Day and the days that followed.

The NRM has a plausible case to reject the results of the election, and it has hence petitioned the courts of law.

The first challenge was an application for a recount, which was filed within seven days as required by law. However, this was frustrated by events as a gazette notice had been signed on the sixth day after the election, making a recount moot. This is the position of the law.

The only option left was to challenge the entire outcome. The NRM party protest of the election is based on the fundamental principles in regard to the pursuit of peace, security and democracy. The NRM firmly believes that the most fundamental aspects of Uganda’s sovereignty and existence are the guarantee of the safety of persons and property and the protection of the territorial integrity of the nation. All other things, rights, and freedoms cannot exist without the guarantee of the security of person and property or a secure sovereignty.

The Kawempe North byelection revealed a dangerous aspect that must be addressed and must be of interest to the citizenry. The election was symptomatic of the insidious threat of violence burbling below the radar, and specifically the threat to personal security by an increasingly militant NUP.

During the just concluded by-election, we witnessed direct intimidation of voters. Several voters were prevented from leaving their houses to exercise their voting rights, and secondly, directly at polling stations, preventing those who had come to vote from voting. This ploy was planned and orchestrated by NUP apparatchiks whose intention was to intimidate voters at various levels. We witnessed NUP-leaning electoral officials, including MPS, councillors and mayors, usurping the role of electoral officials and taking over their sitting spaces within the polling stations.

These places are ordinarily and legally the preserve of election officials (presiding officer and polling assistants). Compelling evidence shows organised groups of marauding militant youths meting out violence at various polling centres. These are now commonly called “egali” and have been particularly encouraged by the NUP leadership to sow mayhem during and after elections.

This blatant violence had been preceded by quasi-military parade formation exercises at the NUP offices, which, reasonably, irked the security apparatus.

As a result of this destruction and intimidation, the state made security interventions to put in place a safety net for persons and property. However, it has been acknowledged that there was an overreaction by some of the security personnel in the process.

Ultimately, voters at 14 polling stations were disenfranchised as their votes were not counted and not returned. The sum of these votes is 16,640, which is substantial compared to the winning result of 17,939 votes and the second runner-up result of 9058 votes.

This is besides the cases of personation of media, personation of electoral officials, direct intimidation and threats broadcast on various social media platforms and the illegal possession of voter slips, amongst others, all of which are being prosecuted on their own.

The petition challenging the result of the election in Kawempe North is, therefore, a matter of fundamental principle. It is a defence of the safety and security of Uganda—a defence of the peace and security of the citizens and more particularly the safety of persons and property. Any threat to this fundamental aspect of our existence must never be compromised across the political divide, and anyone who threatens it must be condemned and repudiated.

The writer is the Director Legal Services National Resistance Movement