Kale Kayihura, the Inspector General of Police has ordered police not to release two laptops belonging to Betty Nambooze, the Mukono Municipality Member of parliament. The laptops were confiscated by Police on Tuesday evening from Total Petrol Station in Kinoni along Masaka-Mbarara Highway where Nambooze had step up a center to monitor the Bukoto South by election voting exercise.
According to DP sources, the tent was to be used an independent DP tally center. However, Police officers stormed the petrol station on Tuesday evening and pulled down the tent. They also confiscated two laptop computers and other items belonging to the MP including her mattress. The decision by police drew angry reactions from Nambooze and dozens of DP supporters forcing them to storm Kinoni police station this morning to demand the release of their items.
As a result, Kale Kayihura, the Inspector general of Police rushed to Kinoni to defuse the detention between police and DP supporters in the area. But Kayihura who was expected to order the return of the confiscated items, he instead ordered the police in Kinoni not to hand them over to Nambooze. He explained that Nambooze erred when she left Mukono and decided to pitch camp at a petrol station instead of hiring a hotel room. Kayihura says that police will use the items as police exhibits to charge Nambooze and her group of trespass.
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Kayihura has also ordered police to erect road blocks in and around all roads leading to Lwengo to block further influx of vigilant groups rushing to Bukoto south allegedly to prevent vote rigging. He claims that there is no need to deploy such groups because police is in control.
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By the time of filing this story, Nambooze and her supporters had left Kinoni police station after pitch camping there for about four hours. They however decided to relocate to Manja-Ngereko, the home village of Mathias Nsubuga in Kisekka Sub County to chat a way forward. Nambooze told URN that they are meeting their supporters and polling agents ahead of the polls tomorrow.
She also said Kayihura’s plans to charge her with criminal trespass are laughable. There is heavy deployment in Bukoto south constituency. Bukoto south has 38, 617 registered voters and 66 polling stations. The Bukoto South MP by election has attracted four candidates. They are Mathias Nsubuga of DP, Dan Katula Mubiru an Independent candidate, Julius Ssentamu of FDC and John Alintuma Nsambu of NRM. The Bukoto South seat fell vacant two months ago after the Court of Appeal nullified Muhammad Mbabaali Muyanja’s election for lacking requisite academic qualifications.
