After repeated postponements of the Kanoni LC1 chairperson election, angry residents are warning of possible violence if the Electoral Commission fails to conduct tomorrow's vote as promised.
For nearly two months, residents of Kanoni Town Council in Gomba District have been waiting to elect a village chairperson, but repeated disruptions and postponements have left the race unresolved.
Now, with the Electoral Commission promising that the election will finally take place tomorrow, September 23, residents say they are demanding only one thing: an election.
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They are, however, warning that another cancellation could trigger violence in the community, with some residents openly threatening physical confrontations, destruction of property and attacks on the homes of those they blame for the prolonged impasse.
The residents have directed their concerns at Electoral Commission Chairperson Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, whom they say they have already contacted over the repeated postponements.
Kanoni is the only village in Gomba District where the LC1 chairperson election remains unresolved, according to the residents.
The dispute dates back to July 28, when Uganda conducted elections for village chairpersons across the country. The Electoral Commission had scheduled polling in 71,214 villages, with voting conducted by lining behind candidates, their representatives, portraits or symbols.
The commission later announced repeat polling in villages where voting had failed because of chaos, violence or disruption, setting August 1 for such areas where the voters' register remained intact.
In Kanoni, residents say voting initially began peacefully, with supporters of incumbent chairperson Abel Wasswa Mukatuliki and independent candidate John Katweere turning up at the polling station.
They claim the situation changed when it became apparent that Mukatuliki was receiving fewer voters than Katweere.
"On July 28, we went to the polling station and voting started peacefully. Mukatuliki's supporters joined us and voted, but when he realised that there were few people on his line, he left and the process was disrupted," the residents said.
The Electoral Commission subsequently asked voters to return the following day for a fresh vote, according to the residents.
They claim Mukatuliki and his supporters did not turn up on July 29, leading to another cancellation and the setting of August 1 as a new polling date.
The residents say they again gathered at Kanoni Government Health Centre on August 1, but the election was called off after Mukatuliki reportedly failed to appear.
Another polling date was set for August 14.
The residents say the same pattern followed, with Mukatuliki again absent.
Ivan Munanura, the Electoral Commission's Gomba District Returning Officer, reportedly told them that the commission would communicate another date.
By then, frustration had begun to build among residents who say they could not understand why the election continued to be postponed.
The residents also accuse Mukatuliki, who they say has led Kanoni for nearly 40 years, of continuing to use the village stamp despite the failure to conclude a fresh election.
They say this has raised fears over transactions involving village properties.
"It is painful that Mukatuliki has been left with our village stamp even though his term ended. We are worried because some of our houses have been mortgaged to banks and our plots have been involved in unclear transactions," the residents said.
The residents say the Electoral Commission subsequently announced September 17 as another polling date, but claim the election again did not take place because Mukatuliki failed to appear.
They then approached Byabakama and presented their concerns.
According to the residents, the commission assured them that September 23 would be the final date for the election.
They now say they want the commission to honour that commitment.
"What matters most is that we vote. Whether Mukatuliki wins or loses, let him win through a genuine and fair election," they said.
The residents further claim that when they asked what would happen if Mukatuliki again failed to appear, Munanura assured them that the election would proceed and the winner would be declared.
That assurance has become central to the residents' demands ahead of tomorrow's vote.
They say they have remained patient through the repeated postponements and do not want another explanation or cancellation.
"It is the Electoral Commission itself that made the commitment, and we decided to remain patient and give them a chance. But tomorrow, we do not want any excuses, we do not want any explanations, and we do not want to be intimidated or told anything. Tomorrow, we want only one thing--an election," the residents said.
They added that if the commission has sufficient evidence to establish who won the earlier exercise, it should declare that person rather than subject Kanoni to another postponement.
"Alternatively, the Electoral Commission should declare whoever it has established won in Kanoni so that we can have a village chairperson," they said.
But the residents' frustration has now moved beyond political disagreement, with some issuing explicit threats of violence if the election is cancelled again.
"If tomorrow the Electoral Commission goes back on what it promised us, the country should expect to see bloodshed in Kanoni. And any blood that is shed, we, the people of Kanoni, will place the responsibility in the hands of Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, his sons and his grandchildren," one group of residents said.
Others issued graphic threats of confrontation and destruction of property.
"If tomorrow the Electoral Commission again cancels the Kanoni election because of what Mukatuliki did, we women will strip off our bras, carry our breasts and go naked. We men will remove our trousers and walk towards Mukatuliki. We will confront him in Kanoni and take him to his home in Katende," the residents said.
They went further, threatening to burn property belonging to Mukatuliki and the Electoral Commission.
"Whether it is burning Mukatuliki's house or the Electoral Commission offices, we will do it," they said.
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The threats come against the backdrop of the Electoral Commission's own warning following the July 28 LC1 elections that individuals planning to cause violence or chaos during repeat and residual elections would face the law. (Electoral Commission)
The commission has also said it received complaints challenging some LC1 electoral processes and results and has been reviewing and determining those complaints. (Electoral Commission)
Kanoni's case, according to residents, has nevertheless become particularly frustrating because of the repeated failure to complete voting.
Gomba District has 285 villages, they say, and elections have already been completed in 284, with elected LC1 chairpersons sworn in and carrying out their duties.
Kanoni remains the exception.
The village is also significant because it hosts the headquarters of Gomba District and serves as the district's main town.
The contest is between Mukatuliki, who is affiliated with the National Resistance Movement (NRM), and independent candidate John Katweere.
For residents, however, the political affiliation of the eventual winner has become secondary.
They say they simply want the prolonged electoral uncertainty to end through a genuine vote.
With September 23 now set as the latest polling date, attention is on the Electoral Commission to see whether Kanoni will finally join the rest of Gomba's villages with an elected LC1 chairperson--or whether another postponement will deepen an already volatile dispute.
