Milton Olupot, NathanEtengu, Daniel Edyegu, Walter Ochero and Egesa Hajusu
8 January 2008
Kampala — THE National Resistance Movement candidates yesterday won the Samia-Bugwe North and Labwor parliamentary by-elections. Sarah Mwebaza defeated her main opponent Kevinah Taaka (FDC) with 12,806 votes.
Taaka polled 10,588 votes, while Nathan Wabwire (independent) got 5,372. Democratic Party's Godfrey Osenda trailed with 177. The Electoral Commission spokesperson, Okello Jabweli, said: "It has been a good election because there was no incident of violence although the turnout was below 50%. This is normal in by elections." The turn-up in the Busia poll was 48.8% of the registered voters.
Mwebaza is wife to former MP Stephen Mugeni Wasike whose election was nullified by the court for not resigning from public service in time before nomination as required by law. He was prohibited from contesting in the by-election.
In Labwor, the Rev. Florence Adong Omwony won, replacing her late husband, the former economic monitoring state minister Omwony Ojwok. She garnered 5,532 votes in all the five sub-counties.
Her closest rival, Yafesi Otim Omara, got 5,104 votes, while Michael Ayepa got 3,449. Electoral commissioner Sisye Kiryapawo described the Labwor election as very peaceful.
Earlier in the day, 11 FDC supporters were arrested for allegedly trying to disrupt the electoral process. The suspects, whom Abdu Katuntu (Bugweri MP) described as election supervisors and monitors, were picked from polling stations within Busia town council and taken to the Police.
The eastern regional Police commander, Alphonse Mbuga, confirmed the arrest. He, however, said the details of the complaints could be got from the regional CID officer, John Aboda, who was out of station.
Katuntu, who was in-charge of the FDC complaints desk, said the Busia resident district commissioner, Robinah Nabanja, and her Tororo colleague Samuel Mpimbaza Hashaka, played a role in the arrest of the suspects. He accused Nabanja of turning herself into the campaign manager of Mwebaza, the NRM candidate. "She has a list of people she is picking from different parts of the constituency," Katuntu said. Hashaka, however, said he rescued two women who had been locked up in a house that was about to be set ablaze.
Mary Busingye, the director of Busia Kindergarten and her sister, Rose Kyampaire, said they were cornered by FDC supporters who vowed to burn them.
"We dashed to the house and locked up ourselves. However, the attackers continued banging the door until we were rescued," Busingye said.
Odonga Otto (Aruu MP) asked the Police for security after armed persons moving in privately registered vehicles allegedly tracked him as he monitored the polls.
Otto said he apprehended Moses Wanyonyi, a supporter of one of the candidates, distributing money to voters at Haluba polling station in Bulumbi sub-county. "He was distributing coins in denominations of sh500 and notes of sh1,000 to the elderly at the polling station. This is fraud and it builds ground for another petition," Otto said.
Wabwire, however, said Wanyonyi was his campaign agent whom he had asked to pay lunch fees to his polling agents. "This is a strategy by the FDC to tarnish my name," he said.
But Mbuga said the poll was generally peaceful.
"In the field, the election exercise is generally calm. It is at the Police station here that one receives numerous complaints by supporters of the candidates. We have opened a complaints desk that will handle all that," Mbuga said.
Mwebaza cast her vote at the old park in the centre of Busia town, while Nathan Wabwire cast his at Nangwe Church of Uganda Primary School outside Busia town. Osenda cast his vote at Naikonta, along Tiira road.
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