Tension erupted in the Kawempe by-election as military police whisked away National Unity Platform (NUP) MPs, including Bukomansimbi South County MP Kayemba Solomon and Mawokota North MP Hillary Kiyaga. The two lawmakers were taken from the Kazo Angola polling station.
Journalists, including Raymond Tamale, Abubaker Lubowa, Denis Kabugo, Hakim Wampamba, and Francis Isano, were also arrested and detained in a Toyota Hiace van, commonly known as a “drone.” They were accused of trespassing at the polling station.
The by-election was marred by violence, with security agencies targeting opposition politicians. At the center of the crackdown was the Joint Anti-Task Force (JATF), whose armed and masked operatives unleashed terror on opposition supporters. Several individuals were rounded up, beaten, and kicked, while others were assaulted ahead of their planned rallies. Among those injured was Miracle Ibra, a journalist with Top Television.
The two detained MPs were polling agents for NUP candidate Erias Luyimbazi Nalukoola, who is competing against National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Faridah Nambi; Democratic Party (DP) candidate Henry Kasacca; Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) candidate Sadat Mukiibi (also known as Aganaga); and People’s Progressive Party (PPP) candidate Ismail Musiitwa.
Independent candidates in the race include Hanifah Karadi, Muhamood Mutazindwa, Muhammed Lusswa Luwemba, Moses Nsereko, and Henry Stanley Maitum, the son of former President Milton Obote.
This development comes just a day after Nalukoola petitioned the court over alleged inhumane treatment during the recently concluded campaigns. Through his legal team, led by George Musisi, Nalukoola is seeking a court declaration that the actions against him were unlawful, as well as compensation for the harassment he and his supporters reportedly endured at the hands of security agencies, including the Joint Anti-Task Force.
