NRM paid medical bills of injured supporters in election violence

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The National Resistance Movement (NRM) says it has been paying medical bills of supporters who were injured during election violence.

Emmanuel Dombo, the party director of communication told Uganda Radio Network that supporters received support in form of transporting them to better medical facilities from upcountry and payment of bills. NRM has also helped supporters to report cases to police.

NRM has provided medical assistance to more than 20 supporters. But the amount spent on these people is not yet fully computed.

The National Unity Platform-NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine has been saying they are struggling with medical bills of their tortured supporters. The party earlier this week said it has 44 people who are receiving treatment in various medical facilities across the country.

Like NRM, the National Unity Platform has also not given a figure of how much they have so far spent on medical bills of their supporters. The party claims that it is receiving financial support from supporters in Uganda and abroad to pay for those in need of medication.

As for compensation of party supporters whose properties got destroyed during the election season, Dombo says that is being handled by the president, the NRM National Chairperson. A number of party supporters had their property destroyed during the November 18th and 19th protests following arrest of Bobi Wine in Luuka district.

During the February 13th president’s address on security, Museveni aired three clips of NRM supporters whose properties were destroyed during the presidential election. Whether these people were compensated by the president, Dombo says the party has no information yet.

Violence, Dombo says affected NRM during polls. “We had many supporters who were intimidated, others were violently manhandled by goons and did not turn up to vote and this definitely affected our performance,” he says.

Though NRM was defeated in Buganda, he argues the party is not about to cry that it has “lost Buganda region.”

Bobi Wine got more than 1.8 million votes in Buganda region while Museveni got one million votes.

But the party’s heaviest loss in Buganda was defeat of cabinet members including Vice President Edward Kiwanuka Ssekandi who was defeated by Democratic Party’s Richard Ssebamala. NUP won 53 of 110 Buganda parliamentary seats, NRM 31 while 15 were won by independents. Democratic Party won seven while Forum for Democratic Change won three seats.

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