Opposition posters defaced during Museveni’s PDM tour

Wakiso, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Hundreds of campaign posters of opposition candidates in Wakiso District have been defaced as President Yoweri Museveni continues his tour of Parish Development Model-PDM projects.

His visit has cost candidates their campaign posters. especially those of the National Unity Platform-NUP.

In Nansana municipality, where political rivalry is particularly intense, residents woke up to find entire stretches of roadside where NUP aspirants’ posters had been removed overnight.

Latif Ssengooba, a resident of Nabweru, said that the posters were defaced by groups of young men working under the cover of darkness.

“These were not just random thugs,” Ssengooba told URN. “These were organised gangs of youths. Some wore yellow T-shirts emblazoned with President Museveni’s face. Others carried posters of Muhoozi. Nearly every opposition poster within their reach was torn down or defaced. This was not spontaneous. It was coordinated  and likely backed by NRM leaders here.”

On the ground, the damage is clear to see. Torn posters littered the streets, while charred remains of burned posters clung to walls, trees and electricity poles. Some posters that remained had been punctured with holes, rendering candidates’ faces unrecognisable.

In some instances, the once-colourful mosaic of competing political messages lining the streets is now punctuated only by fresh National Resistance Movement (NRM) insignia and portraits of the president and his son, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba.

Among the most affected posters were those of Zambali Bulasio Mukasa, NUP’s aspirant for Nansana Municipality MP. He said the destruction of his posters came at a significant financial cost, undermining months of groundwork.

“Every 100 posters you see out there cost us at least 1.5 million shillings to produce, not to mention distribution costs and time,” Mukasa lamented. “Defacing them is another way of financially crippling us. This is part of a wider effort to intimidate us and sap our morale before the campaigns even properly begin.”

Mukasa added that he and several other affected candidates are consulting lawyers and colleagues in the party to determine their next course of action, including the possibility of filing a formal complaint with the Electoral Commission and the police.

Kira Municipality Member of Parliament, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, has also been a victim of the act. He has since weighed in on the controversy, condemning the vandalism of opposition posters as a retrogressive practice that flies in the face of Uganda’s multi-party democratic framework. Ssemujju, who was recently elected Secretary General of the newly registered People’s Patriotic Front (PPF), described the actions of ruling party supporters as both petty and undemocratic.

“It is backwards for NRM leaders to sanction or turn a blind eye to this kind of behaviour,” Ssemujju said while appearing on a Kampala-based radio talk show. “They don’t want the president to see even a single opposition poster when he passes by. But this is folly — Uganda is officially a multi-party system.

Competition is healthy, and visibility for all parties is a fundamental right in a democracy. What message does it send when the party in power is afraid of merely coexisting with its rivals’ posters?”

Ssemujju, a veteran opposition figure and former journalist, argued that such actions only deepen political polarisation and demonstrate the NRM’s unwillingness to embrace the principles of fair play.

According to the law, it is illegal to deface or destroy campaign posters and related materials — but there is a catch: the law only explicitly protects posters belonging to duly nominated candidates.For example, Section 83(2) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, 2005, provides that: “Any person who maliciously defaces, removes, or tears any election poster of a nominated candidate commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding thirty currency points or imprisonment not exceeding one year, or both.”Similarly, the Presidential Elections Act imposes fines of up to UGX 480,000 or a prison term of up to one year for anyone convicted of tampering with campaign materials.

As Museveni continues his PDM tour of Kampala’s surrounding areas, opposition candidates are left to ponder how to rebuild their campaigns.

Meanwhile, President Museveni’s tour of Wakiso District is scheduled to span an entire week, featuring a packed agenda designed to highlight the government’s development initiatives under the Parish Development Model (PDM). The tour will include visits to PDM beneficiaries, offering a close-up look at the programme’s impact on some of the district’s most vulnerable communities.

In addition to these community engagements, the President is expected to officially launch several road construction projects aimed at improving infrastructure and connectivity within the rapidly urbanising district. The itinerary also includes interactions with residents of informal settlements, often referred to locally as “ghettos”, to better understand their challenges and affirm government commitment to inclusive development.

The week’s activities will culminate in a high-profile gathering, beginning with a press conference and meeting with journalists, followed by a rally at Namboole Playground’s Western Parking Area.

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URN