By KT Reporter
What began as a proper youth leadership election in Mukono Municipality on Wednesday descended into chaos after masked goons violently attacked supporters of National Unity Platform following the party’s lead in the polls.
According to eyewitnesses and opposition supervisors, the goons arrived at the polling station in the morning hours, shortly after a reported briefing of about 200 youths allegedly mobilised to vote in favour of NRM candidates. The men, many of the goons were concealing their faces with masks.
Tensions rose when youths reportedly ferried from areas around Collin Hotel joined the voting queue, triggering complaints of irregularities. Electoral officials later flagged cases of forged voter slips and began removing suspected intruders from the line, a move that allegedly prompted the bouncers to intervene forcefully in an attempt to compel voting.
Police were later called in to restore order and pushed the bouncers away, allowing the voting process to continue. However, throughout the day, some voters were openly taking photographs of marked ballot papers using smartphones and later presenting them to NRM handlers in exchange for cash, raising fresh concerns over voter bribery.
The first round of tallying delivered a blow to the NRM camp when NUP’s Kato Muluta won the Male Youth Councillor seat with 270 votes, defeating NRM’s Brian Ssentongo who garnered 239 votes, while independent candidate Marvin Ssaava polled 11 votes.
Following the announcement, chaos reportedly escalated. A group described as bouncers and mobilised ghetto youths allegedly attempted to kick and tamper with the female youth ballot box in a bid to have the vote nullified. Police intervened swiftly, thwarting the attempt and allowing counting to proceed.
In the final tally for the Female Youth Councillor seat, NUP’s Margret Nattabi emerged victorious with 290 votes against NRM’s Olivia Nakibuule who secured 229 votes.
The announcement of the results reportedly sparked fresh violence. Stones were thrown at police officers, attempts were made to seize declaration result (DR) forms, and an effort was allegedly mounted to block the Electoral Commission vehicle using a car said to belong to a loval politician. Police again intervened and cleared the route for the EC officials.
By the time order was restored, several NUP supporters had reportedly sustained injuries from the beatings. The declared winners had already been escorted to the EC offices to formally receive their DR forms.
Simon Peter Mwebe, one of the election supervisors, accused the NRM district leadership of deploying bouncers with the backing of the RDC’s office to intimidate opposition agents and disrupt the process.
“We were overwhelmed by NRM bouncers brought by Hajji Haruna Ssemakula. They printed voter slips in black and white and when we raised complaints to presiding officers, we were instead chased away,” Mwebe said.
Another agent, identified as Mujjumba, said he was forced out of the polling area after persistently questioning what he termed as anomalies during the voting process.
Independent candidate Marvin Ssaava also accused Hajji Haruna of facilitating the mobilisation of non-registered youths to destabilise the election.
“These youths were paid to disorganise the process. Many were not on the register and did not even have voter slips,” Ssaava alleged.
The Mukono Municipality youth elections now add to growing concerns over violence, bribery and the integrity of electoral processes at grassroots levels, particularly among youth structures meant to nurture democratic leadership.
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