City tycoon Hassan Basajjabalaba is today expected to appear at the Police Criminal Investigations Directorate where he has been summoned to answer charges of bribery and assault.

Police spokesperson Judith Nabakooba confirmed to Daily Monitor that Mr Basajjabalaba was expected to appear yesterday evening but he did not. The police have opened a general inquiry file against Mr Basajjabalaba over bribery of voters in the ongoing NRM party elections.

Unending wait

"We have already issued summons against him. We want him to record a statement on allegations of assaulting a journalist and bribery of voters contrary to the law," Ms Nabakooba said yesterday.

Last evening, police sources said an unnamed detective who was instructed to serve Mr Basajjabalaba with written summons could not trace him.

But Ms Nabakooba later said he had been informed through a telephone call to appear and he has agreed to appear today (Thursday). Mr Basajjabalaba, the proprietor of several companies and chairman of the ruling National Resistance Movement's Entrepreneurs League, was expected to appear at the CID headquarters yesterday but by press time detectives led by Metropolitan CID Director Paul Kato were still waiting for him.

He was to appear for questioning for allegedly bribing the NRM voters during the just-concluded party conference for special organs held at Mandela Stadium, Namboole. Mr Basajjabalaba allegedly dished out cash in new fifty thousand shilling notes to the voters.

Mr Basajjabalaba refused to comment when Daily Monitor contacted him, only saying: "That is nonsense, that is [an] abomination. Stop it, stop it," before he switched off his phone.

Coming against the backdrop of the chaotic NRM primary elections which have been fraught with incidents of voter bribery, intimidation and various attempts to illegally influence results, the businessman's actions were yet another slur on the party's internal processes.

President Museveni had on Tuesday night denounced the widespread bribing of voters during his party primaries and expressed considerable dismay over the practice. Observing that this was a criminal matter whose perpetrators could serve seven years in jail, he called the vote buying an "insult to the intelligence of voters".

Mr Museveni also warned that politicians who grease the hands of voters with money ahead of elections want to eventually use their positions for personal gain. Mr Basajjabalaba was also supposed to appear for questioning for allegedly assaulting a New Vision senior photojournalist at Mandela Stadium.

He is alleged to have punched photojournalist Arthur Kintu who was taking pictures of him giving out the said money to National Resistance Movement voters. Mr Kintu recorded a statement at police on Monday in which he stated that he was assaulted by the businessman.

Mr Kintu is the second journalist to fall victim to Mr Basajjabala' aggressive behaviour after Mr Ivan Kalanzi, a journalist with Radio Two (locally known as Akaboozi), who the businessman roughed up two months ago at the Uganda Moslem Supreme Council headquarters at Old Kampala.

The ruling party's Deputy Spokesperson, Mr Ofwono Opondo, told Daily Monitor he was not aware of the Basajjabalaba summons.

"And we have not received any petition from anyone complaining about him," he said.