By KT Reporter
At least seven people are nursing injuries following a clash between rival political supporters during campaign activities in Sembabule District.
The violence erupted at Kakoni Village in Nakogongo Parish, Mateete Sub-county, when supporters of Goreti Namugga, the incumbent Member of Parliament for Mawogola South, flying the National Unity Platform (NUP) flag, crossed paths with backers of her main challenger, Oswaldo Dezi Byuma of the National Resistance Movement (NRM). Both camps were reportedly conducting door-to-door mobilisation in the area at the time.
What began as a political encounter quickly descended into chaos, with supporters from the opposing sides engaging in fistfights and hurling sticks and stones at each other. Several people were injured in the melee, prompting intervention by security forces.
Daniel Tamale, a campaign agent with the NUP in Mawogola South, blamed the violence on what he described as deliberate provocation by NRM supporters. He alleged that their opponents mounted a roadblock using logs along the route to a scheduled NUP campaign meeting at Nsumba Trading Centre and began pelting their convoy with stones.
“The NRM supporters directly confronted us and immediately started hurling stones,” Tamale said, claiming that some of the attackers were armed with machetes. According to him, at least three members of the NUP campaign team were injured when stones struck the vehicle they were travelling in, forcing them to retreat.
However, accounts from the NRM camp paint a different picture. Jawaddu Kigundu, one of the injured supporters who sustained a wound on his forehead, accused NUP activists of routinely hurling insults at their opponents during rallies and mobilisation drives.
“We only approached the road to ask them to stop insulting our candidate and agents,” Kigundu said. “Instead, they responded with force and attacked us with sticks.” He further alleged that Namugga’s campaign had hired vigilante groups from Nyendo, a suburb of Masaka City, who he claims intimidate residents perceived to support rival candidates, an accusation the MP has previously denied.
Another NRM mobiliser, Benon Bamulanzeki, who was also injured in the scuffle, faulted Namugga for failing to rein in her campaign teams. He said abusive language broadcast from a sound truck inflamed tensions and incited hostility among supporters on the ground.
In response, Namugga dismissed the allegations and described the incident as part of a pattern of premeditated attacks against her campaign by her NRM rival. She said her teams have on several occasions been provoked through roadblocks allegedly mounted to ambush them.
Namugga confirmed that the matter has been reported to the police and revealed that she is considering petitioning the Electoral Commission to intervene, citing concerns over the safety of her supporters and the integrity of the campaign process. Byuma, her main challenger, said he had not yet received comprehensive details about the incident and noted that he was awaiting the outcome of police investigations before commenting further.
Meanwhile, Twaha Kasirye, the Greater Masaka Regional Police Spokesperson, confirmed that police have summoned both candidates and several of their campaign agents to record statements. He added that four people are currently in custody after being arrested as officers moved in to quell the violence.
Police say investigations are ongoing, as authorities work to establish responsibility and prevent further clashes in the hotly contested Mawogola County race.
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