Norbert Mao addressing the media in Gulu.
The Uganda Opposition leaders are concerned that the January 14, 2021 general election has been rigged by tyrant Museveni’s handpicked Chairman of Electoral Commission where allegations of illegal smuggling of election materials including ballots boxes and voting papers for presidential and parliamentary ballot papers are rampant in favor of the incumbent who has ruled this Bananas Republicun interrupted since 1986 .
“I am contesting against Uganda dictator Museveni who has turned Bank of Uganda into his personal MTN mobile money account where he withdraws each time he wants cash”.
GULU CITY-UGANDA: The shocking news emerging from Gulu City is that a Gulu City Electoral Commission Official has been abducted and later found dead at Forest Ward, Pece-Laroo Division, Gulu City by unknown assassins on Friday, January 8, 2021.
The official, the late Richardson Tabu, 29 years old, who was just promoted to that position less than a month ago, was the Senior Supervisor of the Uganda’s 2021 general elections for Pece-Laroo Division in Gulu City. He disappeared on Friday, January 8, 2021, six days before the presidential and parliamentary elections of Wednesday, January 14, 2021.
According to local radio announcement which was placed by Electoral Commission, Tabu disappeared at about 01.00 PM (local time) while he had gone to buy lunch for his colleagues working with the EC who were caught up in the office located in Senior Quarters in Gulu City.
According to Mr. Obete, the Gulu City EC boss, his office has not known his whereabouts; “as per now my office does not know his where about”.
The Aswa Region Regional Police Spokesperson, ASP Patrick Jimmy Okema told the media in Gulu that when police visited the scene of crime, they found that his was Just dumped and tucked in a ticket of bush with his eyes goosed out ruling out suicide but that it was a premeditated killing’.
“When the body was found, there was no sign of any struggle. He was just lying dressed in a pair of trousers and the place was not tampared with. Anybody dying can fight for his life”.
His decomposing body was found a week later by one of the passer- by near the Lagoon for collecting human waste from the City center, a few from Gulu University’s Faculty of Medicine sits.
Norbert Mao, the Presidential candidate for Democratic Party DP who is together with nine other candidates, are contesting against Uganda dictator Museveni’s 35 years rule, warns the NRM party ‘to be ready for the consequence if they rig the January 14, 2021 presidential and Parliamentary elections’.
“There is already information circulating of pre-ticking of ballots and stuffing of ballot boxes and we have received reports of tampering of ballot boxes seals by the Electoral City Returning Officers ans security officials country wide. This means that the elections has already been rigged.” Mao warned.
“As far as we are concerned, the purpose of elections is to bring about the legitimate government. So if it is not free and fair then then the outcome will not be respected by some of us fighting for legitimacy; those who are rigging elections are planning seeds of instability, and we have to warn them that we have noticed the tampering with the seals of ballot boxes”.
“You know we never did voter register verification because COVID-19 pandemic came in. We are actually going to an election where we don’t have certainty about the kind of voter registration we have”.
Mr. Mao condemns, in the strongest manner, the violence being meted on the presidential candidates under the guise of preventing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. According to him, the bottom line is that we are not going to have legitimate government, because a legitimate government can only be when election is free and fair.
“The intimid ation that if you don’t vote us, there will be war is wrong because Ugandans have seen the war before. My experiences is that the region where autocrat Museveni comes from is that it has not experienced blood bath before like other regions had. Idi Amin made blood to flow like rivers in Acholi and Lango after he overthrew Obote I government in 197I. West Nile followed when Amin was overthrown in 1979. When Museveni ascended to power in 1986, Northern Uganda and mmost parts of Eastern Uganda has never seen peace until 2005 when limited peace set in. Therefore, we have to break the circle of violence. This can only be achieved if President Museveni agrees to hold fre and fair election”.
Mr. Norbert Mao on, who is the leader of the oldest political party in Uganda, said this on Tuesday January 12, 20231, during the press conference he held at the Northern Uganda Media Club in Gulu City. He said that there was some rumor going around that the electoral officials have planned to use fake pens during voting that will fade off within an hour, particularly in places where there are strongholds of the opposition.
“I hear of pre-ticking ballots going on. I don’t know whether they are going to be added in. We have polling stations all over in the country. Where are they going to add their stuffed boxes? I believe that NRM is creating this rumor deliberately to create fear among voters to discourage them from turning up on voting day”, Mao urged.
Caesar Lubangakene, National Unity Platform (NUP) party flag bearer for Pece- Laroo MP seat says they are monitoring all the ballot boxes right from the City Electoral Commission Offices, to all the polling stations to make sure that no ballots are stuffed.
Lubangakene dismissed war drum messages from the National Resistance Movement ruling party who are intimidating Ugandans that if people do not vote NRM then back into power, then there would be chaos. He said those talking about chaos are mere propagandists trying to hoodwink Uganda to vote for them.
“We are training and deploying polling agents. The Electoral Commissioner has given them all the register for each polling station in Uganda. We are not going to take care in any election violence”, says Lubangakene.
“I ask All Ugandans to remain calm and wait for voting. We ask Ugandans to turn up in big numbers to vote .We are going to make sure that National Unity Platform will deploy its electoral officials in all polling stations.” Lubangakene warns.
He lost the seat to NRM leaning independent candidate, Reverend Father Charles Onen, the former Curate of Holy Rosary Catholic Parish in Gulu City, Gulu Archdiocese.
Lyandro Komakech, the incumbent MP for Gulu City and a former candidate for Bardege-Layibi Division in Gulu City MP race, alleged that the ruling NRM party are using soldiers station at Ngomoromo located at the Uganda-South Sudan border to tick ballot papers in fovor of incumbent and Commander –in – Chief of the armed forces.
Komakech repeatedly said as the DP party they had deployed monitoring teams to protect their votes in all polling stations.
“Where will the pre-ticked ballots papers and stuffed ballot boxes will not be included?” Komakech questioned.
Rt. Hon. Jacob Oulanyah, the Deputy Speakers of Uganda’s 10th Parliament, also the National Vice Chairman of ruling National Resistance Movement party says NRM has 11 million registered voters out of 17 million Uganda voters.
“We have 71 percent of voters ready to give our candidate, Museveni, a big win in the January 14, 2021 polls”, Oulanyah boasts.
