Former Senior Presidential press secretary Joseph Tamale Mirundi has warned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Martins Okoth Ochola not to take the letter from Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson Justice Simon Byabakama for granted.
During an interview with a local YouTube channel on Wednesday, Mirundi said that the mere fact that EC wrote a letter to Police, it is a clear indicator that Police and other security agents have gone beyond the required force while enforcing Covid-19 guidelines as far as campaigns are concerned.
On 26th last month, Justice Byabakama penned down a letter to IGP Ochola telling him how he has received several complaints from some opposition presidential candidates like Bobi Wine pinning police for disrupting their campaign meetings.
Byabakama further noted that the actions by police have caused unnecessary confrontations which have portrayed the campaigns in a negative way.
“As you are aware after the nomination exercise, presidential candidates harmonized their respective campaign programs covering the entire country. Please note that conducting campaigns as per the harmonized program is a recognized activity under the Presidential Elections Act and the Roadmap of the 2021 general elections. Presidential candidates have a right to move and access the designated venues for as long as they comply with the Standard Operating Procedures issued by the Electoral Commission that limits to 200, the number of people to attend a political meeting,” read part of the letter.
However, Ochola replied by asking Justice Byabakama to be specific and avoid basing on allegations he got from media reports.
“Reference is made to your letter dated November 26, 2020; in which you informed me that the Electoral Commission is in receipt of complaints from some Presidential Candidates and has also read press reports alleging police disruption of candidates scheduled meetings. Unfortunately, neither the candidates’ names nor the dates, and other necessary particulars of the alleged disruption are mentioned in your letter to enable us to respond to the allegations. We shall be in a position to make a specific response to the allegations once the particulars are made know to us,” Ochola told Byabakama.
It’s from Ochola’s response that Mirundi asked the Police Chief to cool down his ego because newspapers were reporting facts and that Ugandans have seen what his officers have been doing since the day of nomination.
“Byabakama knows it clearly that what Ochola is playing with will lead to the nullification of elections. I advise Ochola and colleagues to get the 10 recommendations the Supreme Court issued in 2016 and read through because Byabakama is a judge and knows the outcome. Therefore, when he writes a letter to you, it means that he has seen a problem in future. Ochola must stop joking,” he said.
The political analyst added that Ochola must know that this a unique general election because of the advanced technology whereby the rest of the world is watching what is happening in Uganda.
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