The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
By Julius Odeke
Police on Sunday evening at around eight o’clock moved swiftly and arrested the Vice President for Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Proscovia Salaamu Musumba on allegation that they were distributing basic commodities to voters.
Musumba who was in the company of five other FDC district officials including Hamba John Patrick Kayondo Mutwalib, Mumbiyo Alli, Ramazan Wegulo were arrested at Busolwe Town Council and taken to Tororo Central Police Station to record their statements.
The police spokesman Vincent Ssekatte who is currently in charge the Butaleja Woman MP by-election’s police contigent told The Independent that the arrested FDC officials were found distributing sugar, soap, mattresses, and other small assortement to the electorates an action police says is illegal.
He confirmed that they have been taken to Tororo.
However, early in the morning police again under the command of Grace Turyagumanawe arrested two other FDC officials that included Sam Mugumya and Francis Mwijukye in Good News Guest House Restaurant together with the FDC’s spokesman, Philip Wafula Oguttu who is the MP for Bukhooli Central in Bugiri district. Surprisingly, Oguttu was not arrested.
Oguttu says, “I am not scared and even intimidated in any way about these police arrests they have been doing this to us. So it’s a usual happening that we in the opposition have gotten used to.”
Police says these people are not residents of Butaleja district so they are not supposed to come and confuse residents in the area.
While in an interview with Oguttu he told the Independent that, “FDC officials have not committed any crime to warrant their arrests. This is simply politics, government is in total fear because our candidate is likely to win and that is why they are doing so in order to scare and intimidate our voters in Butaleja, but we are going to fight till we see victory.”
However, many opposition people are wondering why the arrests are only done on opposition people and yet in the NRM camp, the candidates are free.
Police has strategically deployed Jacob Opolot Omoding who is the Regional Police Commander in charge of Eastern Uganda to oversee the security in Bunyole East while Grace Turyagmanawe is in charge of Bunyole West with Sam Omala as a pivotal man who is coordinating the central activities. The entire trio are RPCs in their police capacities.
