By The leadership of the National Unity Platform (NUP), Uganda’s largest opposition party, has dismissed threats from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) to contest the outcome of the Kawempe North by-election in court, asserting they are fully prepared to defend their victory.
In the by-election held last Thursday, NUP’s candidate, Erias Nalukoola Luyimbazi, emerged victorious with 17,764 votes.
The NUP Secretary General David Lewis Rubongoya stated that his party has substantial evidence proving that the violence witnessed during the election was orchestrated by NRM-backed groups.
“If they want to go to court, let them go. We have evidence to expose them. They deployed goons to disrupt polling stations, arrested our agents, and used the army to intimidate voters. We are not afraid; we will lay everything bare in court,” Mr. Rubongoya said.
The hotly contested poll concluded with Mr. Nalukoola securing 64.37% of the vote, while NRM’s candidate, Faridah Nambi, finished second with 8,593 votes (31.2%).
Following the announcement of the results, NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong accused NUP supporters of attacking and injuring NRM loyalists, preventing many from voting.
“We are gathering data on our supporters who were assaulted by opposition groups. Many, particularly women and the elderly, were intimidated and denied their right to vote,” Mr. Todwong alleged.
He further claimed that security forces, whose mandate was to ensure order, were deliberately provoked by the opposition, leading to instances of excessive force.
“We cannot accept this level of voter suppression. We will challenge these results legally,” he added.
However, NUP President Robert Kyagulanyi dismissed the NRM’s claims, insisting that it was the ruling party that engaged in election malpractice.
“It is shameless for a regime that abducted our agents, brutalized our supporters, spent days bribing voters, and even deployed military vehicles at polling stations to now cry foul,” Mr. Kyagulanyi remarked.
“They tampered with results declaration forms, added votes for themselves, and still lost. Museveni is simply in shock that despite spending billions, Ugandans continue to reject him,” he added.
Mr. Kyagulanyi also ridiculed President Museveni’s past claims that NUP rigged one million votes in the previous general election.
“I challenged him to an independent audit, but he has never responded. We must pray for our country and, more importantly, for our children—so that none of them grows up to emulate such dishonesty,” he said.
