By John V Sserwaniko
On Saturday evening, organizers struggled to lock out a surging crowd that insisted on entering Heritage Coutts where the 12 candidates for the Arua Municipality MP Seat were expected to participate in a live debate. Whereas the organizers insisted only invited guests would be let in, the crowd comprising of candidates’ supporters insisted getting their way in but were overpowered and chased away. A few minutes past 7pm, the debate began and lasted over 4 hours. 11 candidates attended as NRM’s Nusura Tiperu, who would make them 12, boycotted and stayed away. In what angered supporters, humiliated the ruling NRM and potentially diminished the candidate’s base, Nusura never formally communicated reason for her absence yet she had been expected. It was only a few minutes to ending the debate that an apology came through.
The moderators rejected it as one not in good faith and agreed not to communicate it because they considered it was merely an excuse and not genuine. The communication from the NRM camp was that the candidate had travelled to attend late Ibrahim Abiriga’s funeral rites (Duwa), something the organizers dismissed as mere sham excuse. Those present nevertheless carried on and it was candidate Kassiano Wadri that took in the highest number of punches. There was a segment for the candidates to ask fellow candidates questions and the irony that came with it was that majority opted to direct their questions to Wadri painting him greedy. He was furiously interrogated as to why he had to abandon Terego for Arua Municipality instead of waiting for general elections which is barely three years away (2021).
Whereas the questioning superficially seemed embarrassing, Wadri deployed his oratory skills and made some of his opponents to laugh at themselves. Tactfully directing his wrath at the ruling NRM, just like he has eloquently been doing since the campaigns began, Wadri said: “Where is the problem for anyone to say I underperformed in Terego? I left Terego in the hands of two NRM MPs where we had one and how come the same roads haven’t been made yet one of them [Obiga Kania] is even a minister?” Wadri, who had served since 2001 (for 15 years) without break, unexpectedly lost to his perennial rival Obiga Kania (now Internal Affairs Minister) after Museveni tactfully split Terego County into Terego West and East. Kania took east and West went to Moses Anguru, a former driver, leaving the outspoken Wadri with nothing. The veteran politician has consequently been at large until recently when Abiriga was murdered and a vacancy emerged in Arua Municipality where pundits say the winner will either be Wadri or Robert Ejiku, the independent candidate who has so far refused to be associated with either NRM or FDC (generally opposition). President Museveni’s candidate Nusura Tiperu, who continues to be widely shunned by even her own NRM party members, will need divine intervention to win just like Besigye’s FDC candidate Bruce Musema who has since been abandoned by Obongi County MP Kaps Fungaroo who initially appeared to be spearheading his campaigns. Voting is on Wednesday 15th August which will be two days after President Museveni will have campaigned for his party candidate Nusura who has been MP since leaving campus in the 1990s. For comments, call, text or whatsapp us on 0703164755.
