President Yoweri Museveni has summoned National Resistance Movement-NRM party leaders and aspirants in Sembabule district following reports of violence in the area in the run up to the party primaries last week.
The NRM conducted primary election for parliamentary aspirants on Friday. But the process was characterised by acts of aggression and confrontations between supporters of the different political camps leading to the last-minute suspension of elections in Mawogola West and Mawogala North constituencies.
The President has now summoned all Members of Parliament, all-district and Sub-county NRM and local government chairperson from Sembabule, and aspirants for the position of the Member of Parliament, to diffuse the apparent standoff pitting the area.
Nickson Niwagaba, the Sembabule Resident District Commissioner confirms that he has been directed by State House to pass on the summons to leaders for a meeting scheduled for Thursday. Those summoned for the meeting include Shartsi Musherure Kuteesa and Godfrey Aine Kaguta a.k.a Sodo, who are both contesting for Mawogola North constituency.
Musherure is a daughter to Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kuteesa while Kaguta is a younger brother to the President. Salim Kisekka, another contender in the race says the meeting is long overdue and accuses the two close relatives of being the centre of controversy.
He says that the two aspirants are using their statuses to turn the contest into a battlefield by exhibiting might and authority by using the state security apparatus to cause mayhem in the area. Kisekka also wants the president to order for the withdrawal of guns from their camps, for purposes of regaining political sanity in the area.
The meeting has also come after some of the aspirants who lost the NRM parliamentary flag contested the election results alleging massive irregularities that included manipulation of registers, doctoring of results and widespread voter intimidation.
Vincent Kimbugwe, who lost the contest for Mawogola County says the meeting is timely, hoping that it may help towards resolving the stalemate that arisen from controversial party primaries.
“It is going to give the opportunity of reporting to him directly, the deliberate irregularities that took place in this area that disfranchised NRM members of their rights to vote leaders of their choice,” he says.
