Presidential candidates have a right to move, EC chairperson tells Police

#UGDecides2021|EC|POLICE 

The Electoral Commission (EC) chairperson, Justice Simon Byabakama, has written to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Martins Okoth-Ochola, asking him to restrain policemen from blocking and/or disrupting the scheduled presidential candidates campaign meetings ahead of the 2021 election.

In a letter issued on Thursday (November 26, 2020), Byabakama urged the Police to restrain themselves from blocking presidential candidates from access to the officially designated venues for their campaigns.

He said the alleged blocking and/or disrupting scheduled campaign meetings had resulted in unnecessary confrontations with physical clashes involving security officials, candidates, and their supporters "which have portrayed the conduct of this activity in a negative way." 

"Presidential candidates have a right to move and access the designated campaign venues and hold their campaign meetings in compliance with the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines issued by the EC," Byabakama wrote.

"Uganda Police are required to ensure that the electoral activity takes place in a peaceful manner and in accordance with the law and guidelines," he added.

"This is, therefore, to urge you to facilitate the smooth actualisation of this electoral activity and ensure that there is no disruption and/ or such blocking of the harmonised campaign programme."

Byabakama said his guidance follows complaints from candidates and continued press reports of candidates being frustrated by Police.

He said EC has received complaints from presidential candidates and also seen press reports that the Police are blocking and/or disrupting them from accessing scheduled venues for purposes of conducting their campaign meetings.

Political parties respond 

The chairperson of independent presidential candidate, Lt Gen (rtd) Henry Tumukunde's campaign team, Omar Kalinge-Nnyago, said their Renewed Uganda platform, which Tumukunde is campaigning under, will out of civility thank the EC for waking up, but they were not impressed.

He said the language used in the letter to the IGP is apologetic and betrays a lack of confidence from the EC.

"The letter is just intended to provide digital accountability. It will not have any effect on the conduct of the Police and military," Kalinge said.

National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi's lawyer, Medard Sseggona, said: "So, IGP will say Kyagulanyi was blocked because he didn't comply with SOPs. But this game is not about SOPs. Tell me if Kyagulanyi was bound to violate SOPs in a hotel room where he was going to sleep alone.

But why was he stopped by the Police from access to the hotel he had booked? Why did the Police pull him out of a radio station in Hoima during a programme he had paid for? Were they enforcing SOPs there?"

Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) spokesperson, Ssemujju Nganda, said the EC's letter simply gives them an opportunity to distance themselves from actions of the Police, something he said they should have done right from the beginning.

Kasese Woman MP Winnie Kiiza, who is the campaign manager of Maj Gen (rtd) Mugisha Muntu of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT) said Byabakama's letter saying the Police should not destabilise candidates should have come out on the last nomination day after the arrest of Kyagulanyi and the mistreatment of FDC flag bearer Patrick Amuriat, who was taken by the Police for nomination barefoot.

"So if Byabakama has now realised that he needs to take action, I am glad. We want to see going forward whether the Police will respect his orders," she said.

Efforts to get a comment from Police spokesperson Fred Enanga were futile by press time after repeated calls to his known cellular phone number went unanswered.