Police are holding eight people for allegedly bribing voters in the ongoing Hoima Woman Member of Parliament by-elections.
The suspects allegedly belong to the opposition side were picked up from Kabale village in the newly created Kabale sub county by a joint security team comprising police and the army in the wee hours of Thursday morning.
According to the Observer newspaper, Samuel Kisembo, the Hoima resident district commissioner (RDC) said that the suspects were caught red-handed distributing salt soap, sugar and cash to voters.
He says they received intelligence that the suspects were bribing voters under the command of Barnabas Tinkasiimire, the Buyaga West County member of parliament and People Power Movement coordinator for Bunyoro region.
Julius Hakiza, the Albertine Region police spokesperson confirmed the arrest but declined to divulge details, saying he was still locked up in a meeting.
The by-election is intended to fill the vacancy left behind by the former district woman MP Kaahwa Tophace Byagiira who crossed to represent the newly created Kikuube district. Pre-election indicators show this is a highly competitive by-election with only two candidates; FDC’s Asinansi Kamanda Nyakato and NRM’s Harriet Businge Mugenyi.
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