Police: Why we stopped Bobi Wine's campaign meeting in Kitgum
Police in Kitgum has said it blocked the National Unity Platform (NUP) presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine from campaigning in the district because of the indiscipline of his team and supporters.
Yesterday, Kitgum Resident District Commissioner (RDC),William Komakech who is the head of security in the district blocked Kyagulanyi from campaigning in the area.
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According to the Electoral Commission (EC) programme, Kyagulanyi was meant to start his campaigns on Wednesday from Kitgum but this was not possible as the area RDC and police thwarted his team.
"Before all this,we had sat in the district executive committee where the venues we had agreed upon were vetted and but these people wanted a particular venue which was a private place," Tommy Eyaku, the DPC of Kitgum said.
Eyaku said he tried to engage NUP leaders on this matter to come to a common understanding but he was unsuccessful.
"So we had a stand off because NUP coordinator remained adamant and refused the venue we had agreed upon,"said Eyaku.
According to the DPC, the same ground they agreed upon,was the place that was first requested by the NUP leaders that prompted the honouring of the request.
"After a long stand off, they completely defied and refused to heed to my advice as the leader in the operation.For that purpose of not wanting confrontation,we let them hoping that they will come to the place we agreed upon but they refused,"he said.
"Instead they wanted to knock people and some of the people were falling off from their own vehicles because of recklessness so when they entered the business centre we took an action because we were protecting people's property,"he added.
He said NUP leaders exhibited a lot of hooliganism that could not be tolerated.
Bobi Wine claimed that authorities in Kitgum first told him that his programme in the district was clashing with that of another presidential candidate until they consulted the Electoral Commission who later cleared them.
