A tense political atmosphere has gripped Kamuli District after Sowedi Egumbye, husband to Kamuli District Woman MP aspirant Sarah Auma, was shot dead by police on Wednesday night in what authorities described as an act of election-related violence ahead of Thursday’s NRM party primaries.
According to Police, the incident occurred around 11pm when a group allegedly linked to Auma’s campaign forcefully entered the home of Buzaaya County MP Martin Muzaale.
Busoga North Police spokesperson ASP Michael Kasadha said the group was travelling in a motorcade and used one of their vehicles to ram through Muzaale’s gate.
“They used one of the cars to knock the gate of Honourable Muzaale to gain entry,” Kasadha told Baba FM.
“They injured people because they had weapons like pangas and hammers. These are some of the items we recovered from the scene.”
Kasadha said police officers were dispatched after an emergency call was made. On arrival, they reportedly found the group attempting to flee.
Egumbye was shot during efforts to stop the vehicle.
“In the process of stopping them, bullets were fired to deflate the tyres of their vehicle. In that melee, Sowedi was shot and later died,” said Kasadha.
“It is unfortunate. We wouldn’t want to lose anybody because of elections, but people must follow the rules.”
The police confirmed they fired the shots and have launched an investigation into the matter. The deceased’s body was taken to Kamuli General Hospital for a post-mortem.
Authorities indicated that the confrontation happened well past the campaign cutoff time, and suspect the incident was part of wider efforts to influence the primary elections through violence and voter importation.
Kasadha added that several individuals arrested at the scene were not residents of the area and may have been ferried in illegally.
“We are getting information that several candidates have ferried people from different areas to places where they do not vote. That is a serious electoral offence,” he said.
Sarah Auma, Egumbye’s widow and a contestant in the Woman MP race, had not issued a public comment by press time.
Earlier this month, she was involved in a separate traffic accident along the Kamuli–Jinja highway and spent days in hospital recovering.
The fatal incident is one of the most serious cases of violence to hit the NRM primaries so far and has raised renewed concerns about safety, electoral credibility, and the use of state security in the political process, especially in rural constituencies.
Complicating the matter further are unconfirmed reports about Egumbye’s alleged criminal past. Local residents in Buwagi, where he lived, say he had previously evaded multiple police arrests and was suspected of leading a "fake dollar" gang in the area.
Some locals now believe that police may have used the political unrest as a pretext to eliminate him.
“Sowedi has been on the police wanted list for a long time,” one resident who declined to be named said.
“There’s a feeling in the community that this killing may have had less to do with politics and more to do with unfinished business.”
Efforts to get further comment from ASP Kasadha about these claims were unsuccessful by press time, as he did not answer repeated calls or WhatsApp messages.
Meanwhile, security forces in Kamuli and across the country are on high alert, with authorities warning that anyone who breaches electoral laws will be arrested and held until after the elections.
“Those who will prove not to be peaceful will be arrested and held until after the elections,” Kasadha warned.
