Police in Ntungamo Municipality was on Monday September 7th 2020 forced to use tear gas to disperse angry sympathizers and supporters of Labour Minister Mwesigwa Rukutana demanding for his release and declare him as a winner of NRM primaries for Rushenyi constituency.
Over 1000 protesters from all sub counties of Rushenyi county were demanding charges be dropped and the release of their MP who was arrested on Saturday over attempted murder of Dan Rweiburingi Kiriyo at Rukutana’s home residence in Ruyonza Rubaare sub county Rushenyi.
Rukutana has since been charged and remanded to Kakiika prison in Mbarara.
The protesters vowed to continue demonstrating against to what they called unlawful and unjust detention and the coercive tactics against the will of majority saying that if the chairman of NRM party who is President Yoweri Museveni doesn’t intervene they will cross from NRM to opposition parties likely National unity Platform headed by Robert Ssentamu Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine.
They also accuse the Ntungamo District NRM party chairman who is also the First Lady Janet Kataaha Museveni for manipulating the whole process of elections in Ntungamo and directing the NRM district registrar Maria Mirembe to announce the partial results excluding 10 villages which did not handover their results.
They carried banners and placards inscribed with slogans ‘free Mwesigwa Rukutana, our developmental MP, who built churches, mosques, schools, roads and clean water in our area’.
They appealed to the president who is also the party chairman Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to assess the situation quickly and order the release of Rukutana as well as conduct vote recount such that peace and transparency can prevail before they cross to join Bobi Wine’s party.
The DPC Ntungamo Katwesiime Damian acknowledged the peaceful demonstration but noted that they could not allow them because they did not seek permission from police.
The Ntungamo District NRM registrar Maria Mirembe noted the results were declared excluding other villages because they were under pressure from voters and in doing so they thought it can maintain sanity.
Naome Kabasharira emerged the winner with 24,006 votes while Rukutana got 23,966 with a margin of 40 votes excluding 10 villages, Bob Karabayi 2,266 votes, Nicholas Niwahereza 1,202 votes and Norman Kashereka got 346 votes.
