Kabatsi, Kawooya in tight race in Sembabule
Jan 07, 2009
THE Sembabule byelections for the Woman MP kicked off to a peaceful start yesterday morning. Preliminary results trickling in by press time, indicated that the two main rivals, Joy Kafureka Kabatsi (independent) and Anifa Kawooya Bangirana of the NR
By Cyprian Musoke, Dismus Buregyeya and Ali mambule
THE Sembabule byelections for the Woman MP kicked off to a peaceful start yesterday morning. Preliminary results trickling in by press time, indicated that the two main rivals, Joy Kafureka Kabatsi (independent) and Anifa Kawooya Bangirana of the NRM, were running neck and neck.
Kabatsi defeated Kawooya in Sembabule town council, but Kawooya overtook her narrow lead in the villages.
The other candidate was Irene Nantongo Lwanga of DP.
By midday, the Police had arrested Kabatsi’s election manager Isha Ntumwa, on allegations of disrupting the polls at several polling stations and ferrying voters on behalf of Kabatsi.
Ntumwa, who was arrested together with five other people who were not readily identified, was released shortly after interrogation.
The Electoral Commission chief, Eng Badru Kiggundu and the Inspector General of Police, Kale Kayihura, were in Ssembabule to oversee the polling.
Sembabule district Police chief Godence Ovuru said: “The councillor (Ntumwa) was moving from polling station to polling station purportedly to monitor law and order. That is the work of security agencies. Some candidates wanted to put more than two agents at a polling station yet the law allows only two. We have deployed all over and are in charge,†he said.
As early as 7:00am, voting had started at several polling stations.
There are 177 polling stations in Sembabule’s seven sub-counties. A total of 85,350 people are expected to vote, according to Kiggundu.
The movements of Kabatsi’s supporters, Lwemiyaga MP Theodore Ssekikubo and Sembabule LC5 chairman Herman Ssentongo, were being closely monitored by a special mobile Police unit, sources said.
Sembabule town council, the most hotly-contested area, has four polling stations. Ntuusi and Matete were Kabatsi’s strongholds, while Kawooya had kept a tight grip on Rwebitakuli, Lwemiyaga, Lugusulu and Mijwara.
The DP candidate did not have polling agents at several polling stations.
Kabatsi cast her vote at about 9:00am at Ntuusi. Kawooya voted at about 8:40am at Mitete, while Nantongo cast her vote at Kiju.
On arrival at Lukaka polling station near Mitete trading centre, Kawooya found presiding officer Godwin kamanye with a blank appointment letter.
On checking the list of presiding officers, Kawooya discovered that G. Kamya was supposed to preside over the polls at the station.
She called the electoral chief, who explained that Kamanye had been called to replace Kamya who had failed to turn up on time.
“He (Kamanye) had not even arranged the boxes well, they were confusing, so when I asked for his letter, he had a blank one,†Kawooya said.
Kawooya had also complained about the use of markers for identifying people who had finished voting, insisting on the dipping ink, but Kiggundu assured her that this was the new method.
“We previously used pad ink but they brought a marker, which brought more confusion,†Kawooya lamented.
On the other side, Kabatsi complained that her agents had been chased way from several polling stations, beaten up and her main official, Ntumwa, detained. “They were beaten up by security people and the Police are not helping us,†she grumbled.
Kabatsi’s camp claimed that in Lugusulu, UPDF soldiers from Lutunku had pre-ticked ballot papers and that Ntumwa was arrested while trying to intercept them.
THE Sembabule byelections for the Woman MP kicked off to a peaceful start yesterday morning. Preliminary results trickling in by press time, indicated that the two main rivals, Joy Kafureka Kabatsi (independent) and Anifa Kawooya Bangirana of the NRM, were running neck and neck.
Kabatsi defeated Kawooya in Sembabule town council, but Kawooya overtook her narrow lead in the villages.
The other candidate was Irene Nantongo Lwanga of DP.
By midday, the Police had arrested Kabatsi’s election manager Isha Ntumwa, on allegations of disrupting the polls at several polling stations and ferrying voters on behalf of Kabatsi.
Ntumwa, who was arrested together with five other people who were not readily identified, was released shortly after interrogation.
The Electoral Commission chief, Eng Badru Kiggundu and the Inspector General of Police, Kale Kayihura, were in Ssembabule to oversee the polling.
Sembabule district Police chief Godence Ovuru said: “The councillor (Ntumwa) was moving from polling station to polling station purportedly to monitor law and order. That is the work of security agencies. Some candidates wanted to put more than two agents at a polling station yet the law allows only two. We have deployed all over and are in charge,†he said.
As early as 7:00am, voting had started at several polling stations.
There are 177 polling stations in Sembabule’s seven sub-counties. A total of 85,350 people are expected to vote, according to Kiggundu.
The movements of Kabatsi’s supporters, Lwemiyaga MP Theodore Ssekikubo and Sembabule LC5 chairman Herman Ssentongo, were being closely monitored by a special mobile Police unit, sources said.
Sembabule town council, the most hotly-contested area, has four polling stations. Ntuusi and Matete were Kabatsi’s strongholds, while Kawooya had kept a tight grip on Rwebitakuli, Lwemiyaga, Lugusulu and Mijwara.
The DP candidate did not have polling agents at several polling stations.
Kabatsi cast her vote at about 9:00am at Ntuusi. Kawooya voted at about 8:40am at Mitete, while Nantongo cast her vote at Kiju.
On arrival at Lukaka polling station near Mitete trading centre, Kawooya found presiding officer Godwin kamanye with a blank appointment letter.
On checking the list of presiding officers, Kawooya discovered that G. Kamya was supposed to preside over the polls at the station.
She called the electoral chief, who explained that Kamanye had been called to replace Kamya who had failed to turn up on time.
“He (Kamanye) had not even arranged the boxes well, they were confusing, so when I asked for his letter, he had a blank one,†Kawooya said.
Kawooya had also complained about the use of markers for identifying people who had finished voting, insisting on the dipping ink, but Kiggundu assured her that this was the new method.
“We previously used pad ink but they brought a marker, which brought more confusion,†Kawooya lamented.
On the other side, Kabatsi complained that her agents had been chased way from several polling stations, beaten up and her main official, Ntumwa, detained. “They were beaten up by security people and the Police are not helping us,†she grumbled.
Kabatsi’s camp claimed that in Lugusulu, UPDF soldiers from Lutunku had pre-ticked ballot papers and that Ntumwa was arrested while trying to intercept them.