By David K Nsubuga
MASAKA. The Democratic Alliance summit members have been called for a crisis meeting to find solution for recurrent acts of violence and intimidations that have since interfered with their campaigns trails.
Majority opposition parties including several political pressure groups fronting the former Prime Minister and National Resistance Movement Secretary General Amama Mbabazi as their preferred presidential candidate against president Museveni in the 2016 elections.
Mbabazi through his Go-Forward pressure group has since entered into marriage of convenience with other opposition parties and sponsored candidates for the various political seats in the country under the auspice of TDA-Uganda.
However, Mathais Nsubuga Birekerawo, the TDA chairperson who also doubles as the Democratic Party Secretary General says they fed-up by acts of violence, intimidations and arrests organized against them by the state apparatuses.
Nsubuga used the opportunity of the DP weakly press briefing organized in Masaka district on Tuesday, to express his anger of how their candidates are being harassed during their planned campaign rallies.
“We have had several incidents where our presidential flag bearer has been subjected to different forms dehumanizing acts and his supporters tortured and arrested by Police and other NRM agents working to meet the interests of president Museveni. We feel we cannot withstand these illegal acts anymore,” he noted.
Nsubuga cited the recent arrest of Mbabazi’s campaign team who police picked from the TDA headquarters offices in Nakasero and in different parts of the country, saying all these intended to intimidate their supports and frustrating the campaign activities.
He added since the launch of their campaigns, the TDA presidential candidate has gone through hard times to organize his political campaign activities across the country, which calls of concert
Amama Mbabazi Supporters
ed efforts of all members to decide on how they can stop the irregularities.
“We have seen the Police and other hooligans hijacking the powers of the electoral to the extent to teargasing our presidential candidate and blocking his campaign rallies. This is unacceptable and we cannot continue to looking on as our freedoms are continuously suppressed,” he angrily noted.
In his conceptualized speech, Nsubuga wondered why the Electoral Commission has persistently failed to use its constitutional mandate to regulating electoral activities and instead put the trust in police that have instead abused it in favor of the NRM party.
“The electoral commission is mandated by law to deregister any candidates who go against the provisions of the laws. There are clear indicators that elections will not be free and fair because the grounds are not leveled for all the candidates,” he observed.
Nsubuga, the incumbent Bukoto South Member of Parliament, said that because of these among other frustrations, they have decided to convene an extraordinary TDA summit meeting to devise ways of overcoming the challenges.
On the list if options upon which the summit my chose to undertake, Nsubuga says includes moving a campaign of outright defiance and counteracting violence acts or even calling off the campaigns in protest until the irregularities are addressed.
He on the other hand accused the NRM, acting through Brig General Henry Tumukunde of mobilizing boda boda riders to protest at Mbabazi rallies to give an impression that he does not pay them after escorting his trails.
Police spokesperson Fred Enanga has advised the TDA officials to formerly file the complaints to them for address, however denying allegations of acting under ambits of the NRM party and protecting president Museveni interests.
Enanga says their actions have only been guided by the law and in interest of maintaining law and order throughout the electoral process.