Bubulo East polls: Police arrest Musila’s supporters for murder

Namisindwa, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Two supporters of the Bubulo East Member of Parliament, John Musila in Namisindwa district are in custody at Mbale Central Police Station and Namisindwa police station for alleged murder. Rogers Taitika, the Elgon Region Police Spokesperson identifies the suspects as Apollo Wambwa, the driver of the legislator from Magala town council and Fred Marumbu from Bukokho sub county.

Police picked up Wambwa from Mbale town on Monday this week while Murumba was arrested from Magale trading centre in Namisindwa on Friday last week. According to Taitika, the suspects were picked up in connection to the murder of a one Richard, a resident of Bukokho sub county at Kaboya polling station in Bumoni sub county during the January 14th 2021 polls.

He explains that Richard was a polling agent of Musila’s rival Richard Mataya, the former Bubulo East parliamentary candidate. Taitika explains that the suspects attacked the deceased with stones and sticks leading to his death on allegations of ballot stuffing.

Musila has distanced his supporters from Richard’s death and accuses Mataya of masterminding the arrests to weaken him politically by fueling hatred among voters. He claims that during the elections, Mataya hired goons from Mbale town and armed them with sticks, machetes and stones to beat up his supporters and agents at different polling stations with the aim of rigging votes in his favour.

Mataya has denied masterminding the arrest of his rival’s supporters, saying the police are doing their work. He has urged Musila to be calm and let the police carry on with their investigations, saying that if his supporters are innocent they will return home very soon.

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