Police arrests EC officials, FDC leaders over Jinja East By-election
Tensions are high in Jinja following the arrest of over 10 Electoral Commission officials and other Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) leaders over Jinja East by elections.
FDC’s Paul Mwiru
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Since Monday Police in Jinja in collaboration with other security operatives have been carrying out arrests in Jinja Municipality East in the aftermath of the by election
Among those in detention at various police stations are Jinja Municipal council Speaker Morrison Bizitu, Peter Nagano who were arrested on Monday together with other 10 Electoral Commission officials who presided over the recently conducted Jinja East by election.
Bizitu who was briefly held at Kiira Region Police headquarters was later whisked away to Kira Road Police station in Kampala.
The operations are still ongoing. Yesterday the Democratic Party’s (DP) former Walukuba/Masese Chairman Muhammad Musisi Kibugujju famously known as Bad Man was arrested and detained at Nalufenya detention center shortly before he was taken to CPS Jinja where he spent the night.
Others arrested are FDC's Joseph Kintu a councillor at Jinja Central Division whose whereabouts are yet to be disclosed by press time.
Our Police sources intimated to us that Joseph Kintu was taken to the Kiira regional police headquarters for interrogations before he was driven off to unknown location.
Mwiru writes to DPP
in a letter dated 9th April 2018, Jinja East MP Paul Mwiru wrote to the Director of Public Prosecutions Micheal Chibita notifying him that Police is in bed with NRM Party to arrest his supporters with an aim of getting evidence to boost the looming petition.
He asked Justice Chibiita to instruct the resident state attorney to decline sanctioning such files because they are politically motivated.
The acting RPC Kiira Region Onesmus Mwesigwa confirmed the ongoing arrests and revealed that the suspects are interrogation over manipulation of the Jinja East voters register.
He says they connived to inflate the voters register by ferrying people from different areas to register as voters in Jinja East.
It should be noted that FDC's Paul Mwiru was the first to decry the over inflation of the voters register by Electoral Commission a claim which the later dismissed on several occasions.
Police bosses sacked
The regional Police Commander Kiira Region Gerald Twishime and the Divisional Police Commander Jinja Central Division Martin Mbabazi have been sacked.
The latest from our impeccable sources is that the two Police bosses have been put on “katebe" as investigations continue.
On 15th March 2018 people of Jinja East went to the polls in a hotly contested race by election that attracted 8 candidates though it soon became a two horse race between FDC's Paul Mwiru and NRM's Nathan Igeme Nabeta.
Several election observers claimed that the election was marred by violence, intimidation, voter bribery and other electoral malpractices coupled with heavy police and millitary deployment.
The race ended when FDC's Paul Mwiru was declared winner with 6,654 votes against his political nemesis Nathan Igeme Nabeta who polled 5,043.
Shortly after Mwiru's victory, NRM officials through the Secretary General Justine Kasule Lumumba contested the outcome of the election and revealed their intention to petition.
Author: Hakim Kanyere
