The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kitgum, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT National Unity Platform (NUP) party and People Power Movement activists have forcibly reopened their offices in Pandwong Division, Kitgum Municipality more than a week after it was closed down by security.
The office was established to coordinate the NUP/People power movement activities in the districts of Kitgum, Lamwo, Pader and Agago ahead of the 2021 general elections.
But the Kitgum District Security Committee headed by the Resident District commissioner William Komakech issued directives for the closure of the offices saying that they were not officially informed about the activities of the newly formed political party in the area.
However, Tony Olanya Olenge, the People Power movement/NUP Regional Coordinator for Acholi Sub-region says they have now decided to open their offices, with or without approval to serve their supporters who have no permanent address to meet for party activities.
He says even after writing to the district security, they have failed to get feedback on the way forward, adding that the office of the Resident District Commissioner and that of the District Internal Security Organization [DISO] did not respond to their letter of notification of intention to open an office.
“When our office was first closed, they told us to write a letter of notification, then they changed that we write requesting for permission. We believe this is purposely done to stop us from reaching our supporters and we can’t take it anymore,” Olenge told URN in an interview.
David Aisu, the District Internal Security Officer told URN in an interview on Monday that NUP officials only wrote a letter of notification to his office instead of a letter requesting for permission. He, however, declined to divulge more details and instead referred the journalist to the Resident District commissioner.
But Komakech says they had not permitted NUP to open their offices. He too also declined to reveal whether all the directives issued had been met by NUP party members. “I was away from the office, I have to find out more details on the matter before giving out more information,” Komakech told URN on Monday.
Opposition aspirants in the district have faulted security over what they describe as an early sign of bias by restraining their efforts to conduct grass root mobilization and consultation unlike those in the ruling NRM party.
For instance, in July this year, Jimmy Olanya Olenge, an opposition aspirant for the Kitgum Municipality parliamentary seat was apprehended by police along with 12 of his supporters for illegal assembly in contravention of COVID-19 guidelines.
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