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As it happened: Bobi Wine takes Kyadondo East seat

Jun 29, 2017

Here's how the Kyadondo East by-election unfolded, eventually leading to Robert Kyagulanyi reigning supreme.

KYADONDO EAST BY-ELECTION

  • Robert Kyagulanyi declared winnner
  • FDC concedes defeat, Besigye congratulates Bobi Wine
  • Security ramped up after episodes of chaos
  • Bobi Wine's supporters celebrate early

Live reporting by Joseph Kizza (Twitter: @joekizza)

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9.42pm:  BOBI WINE DECLARED WINNER

 

 

It's an overwhelming victory for Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine. The musician-turned-politician gets 25,659 votes, NRM's William Sitenda Ssebalu garners 4,566 votes, FDC's Apollo Kantinti gets 1,832 and independents Nkunyingi Muwada (575 votes) and Dr. Sowedi Kayongo Male (377 votes) trail.

 

 

 

 

8.20pm:  EC set to announce final results

Very soon, we won't be waiting any more for the final results. The end is nigh as Electoral Commission returning officer, Francis Nkurunziza, helped by another official, reads out the results from the 93 polling stations as they do the final tallying of votes.

 

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7.15pm:  BESIGYE CONGRATULATES BOBI WINE

Former FDC party president and presidential candidate Dr Kizza Besigye has congratulated Robert Kyagulanyi.

 

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7.05pm:  Bobi Wine in jubilant mood

Robert Kyagulanyi, whom we had last seen earlier today when he made an appearance to cast his ballot, is back out and this time atop his vehicle, which is crowded by his buoyant supporters.

It's early celebrations for him and his camp.

 

 

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6.57pm:  FDC CONCEDES DEFEAT

 

 

The FDC party, which had fronted Apollo Kantinti, has conceded defeat through party secretary general Nathan Nandala Mafabi after provisional results indicate that Robert Kyagulanyi, best known as Bobi Wine, is leading his four challengers.

The Electoral Commission is due to announce the final results.

 

 

 

 

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6.40pm:  Dusk fast-approaching

Night will soon fall over Kyadondo East constituency as the announcement of the final results looms.

No prizes for guessing which camp is in celebratory mood . . .

 

 

 

 

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6.15pm:  Thumbs up for Mwesigwa

Here's a nod for Kampala Metropolitan police commander Frank Mwesigwa . . .

 

 

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5.47pm:  Preliminary results

Preliminary results indicating Bobi Wine leading . . .

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5.32pm:  Bobi Wine leading

Again, let me mention that it is still early days, and that these results are subject to official announcement by the Electoral Commission.

The first polling station down here is Wampeewo . . .

 

 

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5.20pm:  Very early Bobi Wine lead

Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) supporters are buoyant, sensing eventual victory. But it's still very, very early days. At Watoto Primary School polling station, those supporters have reason to be hopeful, with the preliminary results, which are not official and are subject to announcement by the Electoral Commission, indicating an early Bobi Wine lead:

Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) 919

Ssebalu 63

Kantinti 170

 

 

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4.43pm:  Meanwhile . . .

 

 

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4.27pm:  Vote counting on

Registered Kyadondo East locals have been voting for their new MP. They have had to choose from five contestants. Who will reign supreme by the end of, hopefully, today?

 

 

 

 

 

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4.13pm:  Counting of votes

It's the next phase of today's process . . .

 

 

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4.02pm:  VOTING CLOSES, VOTE COUNTING STARTS

 

 

It's the top of the hour, ladies and gentlemen. If you want to, but haven't voted yet, you still have a chance to cast your ballot. But you will have had to be in the queue by the strike of 4pm.

Officially, voting has closed and at some polling stations, vote counting has started.


 

 

 

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3.45pm:  'Investigations'

Are there really any?

 

 

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3.36pm:  Almost time

Only a few minutes until voting closes . . .

 

 

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3.23pm:  Security reinforced as voting nears end

Voting closes officially at 4pm local time. After there, we shall have vote counting, then vote tallying then announcing of final results. Remember there are as many as 93 polling stations.

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3.15pm:  MILITARY POLICE DEPLOYED

 

 

Security has been ramped up at Kasangati Ssaza grounds where vote tallying will take place later today.

 

 

 

 

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2.42pm:  Nice and clean

At many polling stations however, voting went on smoothly without incident . . .

 

 

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2.33pm:  'Afande, that way!'

It hasn't been a day short of dramatic episodes . . .

 

 

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2.23pm:  Wet, soggy affair

Not only has it been a drama-filled election, it has also been a wet one, thanks to an early afternoon downpour in some parts of Kampala, including the constituency under today's microscopic focus . .

 

 

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2.12pm:  Click! Click!

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Picture this . . .

 

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1.50pm:  Candidate Nkunyingi 'hospitalized'

The last I had learnt was that candidate Nkunyingi Muwada, one of the five contestants in this dramatic by-election, was taken into police custody following an altercation at a polling station.

Now, that he has since been hospitalized after getting injured during the melee.

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1.24pm:  Where is Apollo Kantinti?

Had the FDC flagbearer voted?

 

 

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12.53pm:  VIDEO: Election turns chaotic

At Magere polling stations . . .

 

 

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12.45pm:  'No pre-ticked ballot papers'

So what's all the fracas about?

It so happens that there is a large group of voters that stormed Kasangati Resort, claiming that there are pre-ticked ballot papers in there.

But Kampala Metropolitan police commander Frank Mwesigwa insists there is no such thing as pre-ticked ballots.

"It's not true that there are pre-ticked ballot papers inside Kasangati Resort," he told journalists.

Meanwhile, there remains heavy security deployment at Kasangati Resort and the ripple effect of the unrest is felt in other polling areas.

Election observers must be busy taking down notes . . .

 

 

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12.34pm:  THE CONVERSATION

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  Here is how the conversation is getting along on social media

 

 

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12.10pm:  It's getting heated

An army of Robert Kyagulanyi supporters storms Kasangati Resort, saying they want to protect his votes . . .

 

 

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11.56am:  No way through

Today's election is experiencing some turbulences at some polling stations. And this is prompting security personnel to take charge to prevent the episodes spiralling out of control.

 

 

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11.45am:  MUK COUNCIL 'VOTES NAWANGWE'

 

 

Voting is not just taking place in Kyadondo East. On the hilltop of Makerere, there has also been another form of voting in a search for the next vice chancellor of Makerere University.

Unconfirmed reports say that Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe has been overwhelmingly voted by the University Council as the next vice chancellor, garnering 16 votes. His challengers Prof. Venansius Baryamureeba and Prof. Edward Kirumira got six and four votes, respectively.

 

 

 

 

 

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11.30am:  Nkunyingi taken into police custody

He protested over where to vote from.

 

 

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11.26am:  CANDIDATE NKUNYINGI 'ARRESTED'

 

 

Reports coming in indicate that candidates Nkunyingi Muwada, who is one of the five candidates in the Kyadondo East by-election, has been arrested following his involvement in an altercation at a polling station in Kiteezi.

It is understood he has been detained at Kasangati Police Station.


 

 

 

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11.20am:  Candidate Nkunyingi clash

Once again, the Kyadondo East by-election features another dramatic episode . . .

 

 

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11.08am:  NKUNYINGI MUWANDA IN PROTEST

 

 

It is pandemonium in Kiteezi where one of the five candidates, Nkunyingi Muwada, is up in arms and flexing muscles with security over which polling station he should cast his ballot from.

An animated Muwada has reportedly been told that his name is not on the voter's register of the polling station he had gone to vote from. And when he was directed to another polling station in the same polling centre, Muwada, a lawyer by profession, protested.

He has sat down, vowing not to go anywhere because the said polling station is where he cast his ballot last year.

"This is unfair, I vote from this polling station; why are they transferring me to another polling station?" he ferociously asks.

 

 

 

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10.42am:  Bling?

Not sure what he is trying to say . . .

Could he be expressing his sense of impatience?

Or might he be showing off his bling on the wrist?

Whatever it is, he has attracted a bit of attention . . .

 

 

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10.33am:  Biometric machines: 'No incidents'

In the past, we have seen reports of biometric voter machines failing. Not this time, says CCEDU's Crispy Kaheru.

 

 

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10.26am:  Observing the process

The election is being closely monitored by observers . . .

 

 

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10.12am:  A helping hand

Lending a hand to an elderly voter . . .

 

 

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9.56am:  'I will call Bobi Wine to sing for me'

That's NRM candidate Sitenda Sebalu telling reporters.

With an air of confidence, he says he knows the result will go his way and that once he has clinched victory, he will tell rival Robert Kyagulanyi to sing for him.

Asked about the threat that is Kyagulanyi, Ssebalu remains steadfast in tone: "I am not scare of Bobi Wine. I am not a musician and I am going to win by an ovewhelming majority."

 

 

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9.53am:  The moment when . . .

. . . NRM's Sitenda Ssebalu William cast his ballot

 

 

 

 

 

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9.50am:  SSEBALU CASTS BALLOT

 

 

Ruling party NRM's Sitenda Ssebalu William has cast his vote at Yogemu Primary School polling station in Wampewo.

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9.42am:  The ballot paper

One, two, three, four, five names are on the Kyadondo East by-election ballot paper. Who will take the day?

One voter here has already decided . . .

 

 

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9.42am:  Security tight

As many as 900 security people are said to have been deployed for today's election to keep at bay any unwanted incidents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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9.36am:  'Don't go there'

Following that melee involving Hajj Abdul Kiyimba, Kampala Metropolitan police commander Frank Mwesigwa has re-emphasized that people who are not voters at a particular polling station should not be there.

On Wednesday, as I mentioned in earlier entries down this page, Mwesigwa said that they need the public to co-operate with the security apparatus for a smooth voting process.

 

 

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9.27am:  Kiyimba forced off

NRM chairperson Hajj Abdul Kiyimba is involved in an altercation with voters at a polling station in Magere.

 

He is not a voter in the area and as such, his presence in the area, where Robert Kyagulanyi had cast his ballot earlier, was nto welcome. And after some rubbing and shoving, he is forced into his car and drives off.

 

 

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9.16am:  The young and old are voting

Voters are electing their new MP. There are five people to choose from: Sitenda Ssebalu (NRM), Apollo Kantinti (FDC) and independents Robert Kyagulanyi (who has already voted), Nkunyingi Muwada and Dr. Sowedi Kayongo Male.

 

 

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9.05am:  The moment when . . .

. . . Bobi Wine cast his vote:

He humbly presented himself to the polling officer . . .

 

 

The election officer then checked through the voter's register for his name . . .

 

 

Once it was found, Kyagulanyi was given the go-ahead and he went on to tick against, obviously, his picture and name . . .

 

 

He then went on to the next stage, where he cast his ballot . . .

 

 

After there, he was marauded by a large group of eager journalists and supporters who wanted to hear what he had to say . . .

 

 

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8.51am:  Minister Seninde votes

Rosemary Seninde, the State Minister for Primary Education, is a resident of Kyadondo East, and has cast her ballot . . .

 

 

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8.42am:  BOBI WINE CASTS BALLOT

 

 

Robert Kyagulanyi, one of the four candidates in the Kyadondo East race, has cast his ballot. The musician and businessman is a newcomer in elective politics and will hope to make it to parliament to represent the people of his area.

Wearing a black shirt, he is keen on spending a little more time with his supporters, interacting and sharing pleasantries. He urges all his supporters to go and vote in large numbers.

 

 

 

 

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8.36am:  Voting swagger?

Who said you must have American football here in Uganda in order to be a fan?

This youthful voter surely thinks otherwise.

Oh, and what a way to express your freedom of expression!

 

 

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8.33am:  Bobi Wine on his way

Many of you might know him by his stage-name Bobi Wine, but on the ballot paper is his real name: Robert Kyagulanyi.

The popular musician-turned-politician has left his home in Magere and is heading to the polling station, alongside his wife Barbie, who has a maroon scarf wrapped around her neck. It must be a chiily morning . . .

The couple has been mobbed by a group of cheerful supporters who are greeting them and exchanging words of support and allegiance.

 

 

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8.17am:  Getting down to business

At Seeta Bulwadda polling station, polling is going on. Voters streamed in early determined to cast their vote.

 

 

 

 

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7.57am:  Stamp issue?

Here's an observation . . .

 

Interested in getting involved on Twitter? Use the hashtag #KyadondoEastByElection

 

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7.54am:  Security tight

Security has been ramped up . . .

 

If you want to get involved in the conversation on Twitter, use the hashtag #KyadondoEastByElection

 

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7.46am:  'Let's be vigilant'

On larger number of voters this time round to deal with, here's what Police Commander Frank Mwesigwa said  . . .

"I think the most important thing is, let's co-operate with the security because our guidelines are very detailed, in terms of how you access these polling stations, immediately after voting and at the tallying centre.

"Let's also be vigilant because as I said, tonight we got information that there are people who are planning to start causing mayhem. As you get any signal, get in touch with us, give us a call and ultimately our response will be timely so that we really wipe out all those who are planning to cause chaos. So our performance is going largely to be based on the co-operation we get from the people, an we encourage people to come in big numbers. Nobody is going to destabilize that area because our plan is so detailed and we shall offer our best." 

 

 

 

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7.43am:  'Preparation averts danger'

On the heavy security deployment (a force of 900 people) ahead of voting day . . .

Mwesigwa said: "There are different blackspots but of course preparation averts danger. Ours [duty] is to make sure we are prepared. And we had our last preparatory meeting today [Wednesday] and really we have a visible force on the ground now and we are going to dominate all the parishes and all the 93 polling stations. And the purpose is very simple: it is to reassure our people. Because as I was walking in [for the show], I was still getting intelligence on people who are now planning to move in at night and cause intimidation so that people do not go to vote.

 

"Our presence is to assure the people that 'yes we are there and anybody who tries to play around ultimately the law will catch up with that person. Our deploymeny is going to be robust and we have the capabilities in place and we are starting tonight [Wednesday].

"And I believe our teams are still combing the place to make sure that anybody who might have intentions of causing chaos, as per the intelliegence we are getting, we are going to deal with them decisively because there are even some political actors who are now sending in people tonight.

"As I was walking in, there are different places we have identified  and our teams are already in place. I believe that even tonight we shall make a comprehensive search of the places and even make arrests before morning so that we don't wait for tomorrow [Thursday] for people to come and destabilize the voting day.

 

 

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7.40am:  'Let's follow the guidelines'

Police Commander Mwesigwa goes on to say that Bobi Wine was in the wrong place . . .

"When you look at the venue which Kyagulanyi had chosen, we had Kasangati Magistrates Court. We had a market nearby, we had a clinic. And ontop of that, that was not the gazetted area for him that day.

"So Kyagulanyi was supposed to be in Bulamu parish but he brought his rally in Kasangati. So that was already an indicator and a violation of the electoral guidelines. So when we came in, we said 'look, this is not where you are supposed to be because we have a court, a clinic, we have the market'.

"We advised him that let's follow the guidelines from the Electoral Commission and move to the parish where you are supposed to have the [campaign]."

 

 

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7.35am:  'Guidelines are very clear'

And on the manner of arrest of candidate Robert Kyagulanyi, Mwesigwa spoke adherance to election guidelines.

"Every electoral process has got guidelines. And when you look at the election guidelines, there are areas which must be complied with. And the scenario we had yesterday, it wasn't per se the arrest. Because when you read the guidelines, they are very clear. No one: the guidelines talk about the venues for these rallies -- where are you supposed to have these campaigns. And when you look at the guidelines, they are very clear.

"No candidate is supposed to have a rally near the market. No candidate is supposed to have a rally near the court, near the hospital. Those are the areas where these candidates are guided," said the police commander in the interview.

 

 

 

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7.33am:  'Campaign period was peaceful'

In an interview on local TV Wednesday evening, Kampala Metropolitan Police Commander Frank Mwesigwa, said security had not had any "significant incident" during the campaigns.

"The campaign period was peaceful, because from the time these campaigns started, we've not had any significant incident. And of course this is attributed to the stakeholder engagement because the candidates and the supporters, atleast we were in touch with them and they collaborated with our guidelines."

More from Mwesigwa coming up . . .

 

 

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7.15am:  A keen eye . . .

Resident voters are out of their beds and are starting to walk to their respective polling stations to join the queue.

Meanwhile, Crispy Kaheru, an observer from Citizens' Coalition for Electoral Democracy in Uganda (CCEDU), was pictured making some pohone calls at Wampewo polling station.

 

 

New Vision's photojournalist Nicholas Oneal (second from left), was this time on the opposite side of the camera lens as he looked set to cast his ballot.

 

 

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7.06am:  All is set

With election materials dispatched to the various polling stations across the constituency of Kyadondo East, all is set for polling.

It's already 7am and casting of the ballot should be under way soon. On the eve of the election, the returning officer for Wakiso district Francis Nkurunzinza led a team of Electoral Commission officers and meet all the five candidates in Gayaza for a final briefing.

During this time, the contestants were reminded of their responsibility and were warned of the consequences for unlawful engagements.

 

 

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6.55am:  Why the by-election?

The Kyadondo East seat fell vacant after court nullified FDC's Apollo Kantinti's 2016 election as the area MP, citing irregularities by the Electoral Commission.

Kantinti is back to retake the seat he lost.

In his way are four candidates, including NRM's Sitenda Ssebalu and three independent hopefuls.

The three are Robert Kyagulanyi, best known as Bobi Wine, Nkunyingi Muwada and Dr. Sowedi Kayongo Male.

 

 

 

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6.37am:  More voters this time

As many as 72,818 voters are expected to cast their ballot for their new area MP. This is a bigger statistic than those who voted in the general elections last year for the same seat.

They will have five candidates to choose from, and I am pretty sure most, if not all, of them will walk to their polling stations dead-set on who to vote for.

 

 

 

The picture immediately above is at Kizito Primary School in Kiti parish at the time the election materials arrived earlier.

Meanwhile, at Bulamu Deputy polling station, polling agents from different candidate camps witnessed the arrival of polling material amidst tight security.

 

 

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6.25am:  Voting materials

As early as 5am local time, voting materials were on their way to various polling stations. And perhaps this is where I should tell you that there are as many as 93 polling stations.

 

At Yogem Primary School in Masooli parish, Kayinzhuka  Godfrey, who is the Electoral Commission chairperson of Gomba, led the team who delivered the polling materials.

At Kazinga Catholic Church in Wampeewo parish, the polling material was brought in by police under the supervision of Kalyowa Sarah.

Polling material also arrives at Kasangati UMEA Twale Mosque very early. 

 

 

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6.17am:  Good morning

Hello and a good morning to you from wherever you are. It's definitely that time of the year when the nights are longer. It's dawn in Kampala and the time is creeping towards the 6.30am mark but the sky is still wearing a dark outfit.

Worry not though, sunrise is on its way . . .

There is an important, eagerly-awaited election that is taking place today in Uganda's capital Kampala -- in Kyadondo East, to be more precise.

For that matter, welcome to live text coverage of the Kyadondo east by-election, and on this page, I wil do my best to bring you up-to-date with the proceedings throughout the day.

Sit tight.

 

 

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6.15am:  It all starts early . . .

And the long-awaited day is here!

 

 

 

6.40pm:  Dusk fast-approaching

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