The race for ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) flagbearer for the Lwemiyaga County in Ssembabule District has started becoming ugly. Area MP Theodore Ssekikubo was shot and his supporter killed by suspected UPDF soldiers.
The clash in which Ssekikubo was shot and his supporter killed involved armed people believed to have been from the national army and NRM supporters.
Kireega village of Kampala Parish in Lwemiyaga Sub County was the scene of the clash. It was in this village that Ssekikubo had planned to launch campaigns to defend his seat and to seek the NRM flag.
The army personnel ordered Ssekikubo’s supporters to leave the venue in Kireega – and chaos ensued.
Fred Ssembuusi, a resident of Ntyazo Village of Lwemiyaga Sub County, lost his life during the chaos as Ssekikubo’s supporters attempted to resist orders from the army.
It is said that Ssembuusi was standing close to Ssekikubo and that he stopped a bullet which hit him in the chest, causing him to collapse and breathe his last.
It is said that the group of UPDF officers had appeared at the venue, cordoned it off and told Ssekikubo’s supporters to go home. They responded with shooting as supporters of Ssekikubo refused to leave.
It is also said that the UPDF truck and the soldiers therein had tried to block a procession by Ssekikubo’s supporters in Bugologolo village but were unsuccessful.
The soldiers then followed the procession to Kireega village where they shot at Ssekikubo and his supporters.
The army officers drove off after the shooting.
On his part, Ssekikubo alleges that his political rival, retired Brigadier General Emmanuel Rwashande, was behind the attack at his rally and that he wanted to cause panic and fear in the area so that voters stay away from political campaigns.
Ssekikubo claimed that this was not the first time Rwashande had deployed the army to make life difficult for his supporters. He said that Ssembuusi was holding him so as to defend him by the time he was shot.
Ssembabule remains a hotspot for politics in Uganda.
The entry of a retired general makes Lwemiyaga a deadly blackspot for politics.
As The Pearl Times recently reported, UPDF generals retire with huge retirement packages – on top of being in the communities. (See Details Here).
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