The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Gulu, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Candidates of the National Resistance Movement -NRM and the opposition parties on Friday night held a closed door campaign with journalists and revelers packed in a small space in Gulu City.
The party candidates who included NRM’s Maria Shaka contesting for Gulu City Woman Member of Parliament, Caesar Lubangakene of the National Unity Platform (NUP) contending for the Pece-Laroo division MP seat and Patrick Oola Lumumba of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party contending for the Layibi-Bardege Division mayoral seat all converged at Franklin Hotel at around 9:00 pm.
The candidates addressed dozens of journalists, presenters, talk show hosts from various media houses within Gulu City and revelers squeezed at the small back section of Franklin Hotel`s lodge and promised them monetary and material benefits once they secure for them victories by mobilizing voters for them in the general elections.
The journalists and revelers had converged at Franklin Hotel along the Avenue Street purportedly to witness the premiering of a song composed by one Daniel Omuge alias Dan Mix, a local artiste and also a presenter in Gulu City.
At the same event the participants numbering over 50 who were not observing the guidelines set to contain the spread of coronavirus disease in the country also witnessed the launch of a music production studio named ‘’Amaz Records’’ located in St Mauritz in Pece-Layibi division. The bash ended at about 11:00 pm.
In his address, Patrick Oola Lumumba the Gulu City FDC Chairperson asked the journalists to vote wisely and rally voters to vote for the opposition party for change and a better Uganda.
He also criticized the journalists for failing to create wealth and later ending up suffering by relying on their meagre salary or even going months without payment.
Oola later donated 50,000 shillings ($13) for the journalists through Denis Otii, a journalist who was the Master of Ceremony of the event.
Caesar Lubangakene of NUP told the journalists to rally the mass to vote for him if they want to benefit from his leadership once elected into office.
Maria Shaka of the NRM party disclosed that she has been of help to many individual journalists while they were choking on debts and pledged that she will offer better deals to them once elected.
Shaka was accompanied by her campaign manager Christine Olok, the NRM Chairperson for Layibi-Bardege division, she also rallied the journalists to vote for the NRM party during the general elections.
The journalists and revelers were seen clapping and cheering for the candidates as they made their speeches and ended by giving undisclosed amounts of money as they pleaded for votes.
Asked why the event turned into a campaign ground for the candidates at a time not allowed by the Electoral Commission, Omuge who hosted the party said that he was not aware of the arrangements and blamed it on the master of ceremonies.
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