In Jinja, FDC's Nandala hits cul-de-sac in dramatic standoff with Police

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On his final day of campaigns in Busoga sub-region, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) presidential flagbearer Nathan Nandala Mafabi on Friday (October 3) clashed with security officers in Jinja city over passage through the tight main street.

It had evolved somewhat into a hide-and-seek episode.

Initially, the FDC frontrunner complied with traffic police directives, but later defiantly diverted to a shortcut in a bid to connect to Jinja’s main street. This caught the officers off guard since most of them had been deployed to block alternative routes.

In the city centre, Nandala stepped out to wave at his supporters. 

Ironically, this unfolded near the Main Street Police Station, where no officer was available at the time to stop him because they were concentrated at roadblocks outside town.

Soon, five police patrol trucks arrived to force the FDC candidate and his convoy out of Jinja. 

However, Nandala’s security team and party president Patrick Oboi Amuriat resisted.

“The Electoral Commission programme says we are supposed to be in Jinja and we are here,” Amuriat repeatedly told police officers.

However, after about half an hour of a standoff, the FDC team agreed to leave the city.

Earlier in the day, before setting off for his rallies, Nandala had criticised the Electoral Commission for failing to ensure fairness. He accused the Police of giving the incumbent preferential treatment while frustrating opposition candidates.

“Police is blocking the Opposition from using the main roads where people are, pushing us to deserted places under the claim that we disrupt businesses. Yet Mr Museveni moves wherever he wants. Police should be fair to all candidates,” Nandala told journalists at his home.

This was not the first time the FDC candidate had clashed with police over campaign routes. 

On Wednesday, similar scenes unfolded in Iganga, where officers tried to block him from accessing the main town. His security team, however, overpowered the police and cleared a path for his convoy.