Luweero Elections Appeal dismissed, some campaigners still missing

 

The High Court in Kampala presided over by Justice Vincent T. Zehurikize on Friday, February 2, 2012 delivered its ruling for an Election appeal filed by Dr. Nabatanzi Lugudde, one of the candidates who contested in the November 21, 2011 by – Elections for the luweero District Woman member of Parliament which was won by Democratic Party’s Brenda Nabukenya in a hotly contested race.

Dr. Nabatanzi Lugudde had appealed to the High Court after losing before the Electoral Commission tribunal in her Petition which challenged the nomination of all candidates in the election. In its ruling the high Court decided that the petition had abated and it was overtaken by events after elections having been conducted.

She was advised to instead proceed with the Petition she filed against the outcome of the elections.  Meanwhile, as DP’s Brenda Nabukenya celebrates his court victory, many of her campaigners are still appearing in court on allegations by the state that they incited violence, offences which according to her are politically instigated to undermine her victory.

Four months since the elections, some supporters and campaigners still languish in unknown detention facilities. Most of those missing were Uganda Young Democrats (UYD) activists who had been deployed to canvass and protect the votes of their leader.

A whistleblower recently stated on a local radio that an activist under the names of Mwazike Gustavus Mulindwa, a youth leader and activist of UYD in Nakawa Division and employed by a prominent advertising and PR firm in Ntinda Nakawa Division who went missing since the 25th November 2011 after being arrested by state security agents during the chaos which emanated against vote recounting, had been sighted at Mulago National Referral Hospital in a poor health condition and very dirty clothes.

It was also later reported that Democratic Party (DP) leaders with assistance from Development partners and International democracy support partners smuggled him out of the Country for post traumatic psychological support and better medication inNairobi,Kenya.

Mwazike Gustavus is one of the youth who were never produced in courts of law and police has failed to respond to the complaints by DP President Norbert Mao and other Democratic Party Youth Leaders’ calls for release of all political prisoners believed to be detained in ungazetted detention centres which the state uses to torture political activists.

A medical worker at Mulago Hospital who feared to be disclosed for fear of being witch hunted by the state security intimated to our informers that it is so common these days for state security agents to dump their victims at the national referral hospital when the victims become so weakened by the various modes of torture inflicted through electrocutions, beatings, use of snakes, crocodiles among others.

We shall continue this series of reports regarding new details on the missing activists of the opposition as many more are now considered missing due to the Activists for Chance (A4C) events across the country.

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