The National Unity Platform (NUP)President Robert Kyaguanyi alias Bobi Wine has dismissed President Museveni’s accusations that the NRM candidate was unfairly rigged out in the Kawempe North by-election.
Bobi Wine described the allegations as a desperate attempt by the president to justify his electoral defeat despite widespread state-sponsored intimidation and manipulation.
In a statement shared across his social media platforms, Bobi Wine labeled the ruling National Resistance Movement’s (NRM) claims as ironic. He pointed out the numerous reports of election irregularities in favor of the NRM, including actions by state agents.
“Here is the same despotic leader who abducted our agents and supporters, beat up our people, bribed voters for days, deployed military vehicles at polling stations, and tampered with Declaration of Results (DR) forms to inflate his votes—now claiming that he was rigged?” Bobi Wine wrote.
Bobi Wine also criticized Museveni’s recent attempts to win over urban voters, particularly in Kampala’s ghettos, despite significant financial investments. He pointed out that the efforts, including the deployment of police Crime Intelligence boss Christopher Ddamulira with large sums of money, had failed to secure the support Museveni had anticipated.
“He is baffled that despite spending billions on these efforts and others, the people of Uganda have rejected him outright,” Bobi Wine said.
Additionally, Bobi Wine dismissed Museveni’s earlier claims that the opposition had rigged one million votes during the 2021 general elections. He reiterated his call for an independent audit of the election results, a request that he says Museveni has ignored.
Bobi Wine’s comments come after the NRM party announced it would challenge the outcome of the Kawempe North by-election, in which NUP candidate Elias Nalukoola was declared the winner.
NRM Secretary General Richard Todwong, speaking at a press conference in Kampala earlier todayb declared that the NRM party completely rejects the results of the Kawempe North Constituency as announced by the Electoral Commission.
“The party has instructed its lawyers to challenge the by-election results in court,” Todwong said
The NRM also highlighted reports of violence at several polling stations in the Kawempe North constituency, allegedly carried out by NUP supporters.
They also criticized the cancellation of results from several polling stations by the Electoral Commission, which they claim disenfranchised about 50,000 registered voters.
“The party is calling on the government to conduct a forensic audit to hold all those responsible for manipulating the election accountable,” Todwong concluded.
