By Ben Musanje
GULU CITY was plunged into shock following deadly political campaign violence earlier this month, with Robert Mugabe, an MP candidate for Bardege–Layibi Constituency, accusing the state of using fear, violence, and criminal gangs to crush political opposition and silence the Acholi people’s demand for justice and accountability.
In a statement issued on December 14, the Robert Mugabe Campaign Team laid out disturbing details of violence that allegedly occurred on December 6 in Gulu City.
The campaign said innocent civilians were attacked, robbed, beaten, and killed in what it described as a coordinated operation involving local leaders linked to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), state security forces, and street gangs locally known as Aguu.
According to the campaign, the country watched in disbelief as uniformed security officers were allegedly seen working alongside goons instead of protecting citizens.
The statement singled out the killing of Leon Joshua Otim, an S.3 student from Excel High School in Mukono, who was reportedly beaten to death during the chaos. Mugabe described the young student’s death as a national tragedy and a damning indictment of the state’s use of violence against its own people.
The campaign accused the current government of turning security forces into instruments of repression rather than protection, arguing that authorities had abandoned their responsibility to equip young people with skills and employment, instead recruiting them into violence against their own communities.
Mugabe’s campaign further said the ruling party had exhausted its legitimacy and run out of ideas to transform society, making it incapable of winning a genuinely free and fair election. It alleged that intimidation, brutality, and fear had become central tools for retaining power.
The statement warned that the Acholi people would not be cowed into silence, insisting that no level of intimidation would stop them from demanding justice, fairness, and accountability. It pointed out that the Acholi sub-region remains among the poorest in the country despite decades of sacrifice and promised development.
The campaign reiterated long-standing grievances, including demands for compensation for past war atrocities, justice over the Apaa land dispute, the eviction of Balaalo cattle keepers from Acholi land, and a permanent solution to cattle rustling by Karamojong groups, saying the government had consistently failed to act.
Mugabe concluded by warning that violence could never produce legitimacy or trust, calling on authorities to immediately stop deploying security forces and criminal gangs against civilians and instead confront the deep political and social injustices facing the Acholi people.
Mugabe’s message follows condemnation recently issued by the Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Norbert Mao, whose remarks added rare institutional weight to accusations of state failure. Mao described the violence in Gulu as a failure of the Electoral Commission, which he said has a constitutional duty to guarantee peaceful and orderly campaigns.
The Justice Minister openly criticized both the Police and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) for failing to distinguish themselves from goons while confronting unarmed civilians, saying the scenes witnessed in Gulu were a national shame.
Mao also faulted the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and the Police for systematically mishandling civilian cases, noting that delays in sanctioning prosecutions have resulted in citizens being unlawfully detained and tried in military courts. He said the ODPP often sits on files for extended periods while police continue to arrest and detain citizens beyond the legally mandated 48-hour limit.
Mao made the remarks during the launch of the 30th Annual Justice, Law and Order Sector (JLOS) Performance Report for the financial year 2024/2025 in Kampala last week, reinforcing claims by Mugabe’s campaign that Uganda’s democratic institutions are increasingly unable or unwilling to restrain abuse of power.
The statement was signed by Robert Mugabe, who said his campaign represents a fight to restore integrity, accountability, and public trust in leadership at a time when state violence and institutional failure threaten the foundations of democratic governance. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
