Israel Kayonde, a commissioner of the NRM electoral commission, has been beaten up by a group of party supporters as tempers flared over the postponement of the primaries in Kampala Central Division.
Hundreds of NRM supporters marched to the NRM Communication Bureau office in Kamwokya shortly after Kayonde announced the postponement. They demanded to know how some ballot papers leaked and why some names were missing from the party register.
Kayonde explained that the elections had to be suspended because the irregularities in the register would lead to flawed polls. He said that the electoral commission was rectifying the anomalies.
Tempers ran high when one of the voters displayed a photocopy of five polling stations in Kampala where the ballot papers were allegedly leaked.
The voters claimed that the NRM party electoral commission conspired with Godfrey Nyakana, the incumbent LC3 chairman and Francis Babu, a Kampala central MP contestant to steal the ballot papers.
Before he could even explain, Kayonde was dragged to the ground. His jacket was pulled off and he was beaten up. He was pushed into the NRM offices and locked up inside by the mob.
A policeman who came to Kayonde's rescue was also beaten up and an armed civilian stormed out of the crowd and took guard of the office in which Kayonde was locked.
It still remains unclear when the NRM party primaries in Kampala will be held.
