By Ben Musanje
Questions have emerged over the swearing-in of newly elected Local Council I and II chairpersons in Buikwe District after a whistleblower alleged that a candidate who had been flagged for exclusion was forcibly sworn in amid heavy police deployment.
In a letter dated August 25 and addressed to the Electoral Commission, Ben Sande, describing himself as a whistleblower, alleged that Charles Karangwa was among candidates who were not supposed to be sworn in but was nevertheless escorted by two police patrol vehicles carrying armed security personnel to Ngogwe Sub-county.
Sande alleged that Karangwa was then sworn in as chairperson of Namukono LC1 village despite having lost the election. He further claimed that the incident caused a commotion that prevented other successful candidates who were present from being sworn in.
The allegations come against the backdrop of official instructions issued by Buikwe District Local Government and the Electoral Commission on August 18.
In a letter to town clerks and sub-county chiefs, the Buikwe Chief Administrative Officer directed local authorities to work with the Electoral Commission and prepare for the swearing-in only of candidates appearing on the commission’s approved list.
The letter specifically instructed officials to defer the swearing-in of candidates whose cases were still pending before the Electoral Commission.
Separately, the Electoral Commission’s Buikwe Returning Officer, Moses Kagona, wrote to the Chief Administrative Officer on the same day, stating that the commission had received guidance from its headquarters that candidates facing petitions should not be sworn in until their cases had been resolved.
Kagona said he was providing a list of villages where the swearing-in exercise should be adjourned pending clearance by the Electoral Commission.
Sande alleges that Karangwa was on that list.
He also alleged that further disputed swearing-ins were planned in Najja Sub-county, naming Kigaya and Kabubiro villages as areas where people who had lost elections could allegedly be sworn in. The allegations have not been independently verified.
Sande has called for investigations into the disputed cases and fresh, supervised elections in villages where electoral irregularities are established.
The competing accounts place the focus on whether district authorities followed the Electoral Commission’s directive that candidates with unresolved petitions be prevented from taking office.
Neither the documents provided establish independently that Karangwa lost the election, that his swearing-in was unlawful, or that armed security personnel were used to force the exercise. Those claims remain allegations requiring verification from the Electoral Commission, Buikwe District authorities, police and the affected candidates.
The Electoral Commission and Buikwe District authorities had not, in the documents provided, issued a response to Sande’s August 25 allegations.
The dispute is likely to heighten scrutiny of the ongoing transition to newly elected Local Council leadership in Buikwe and the implementation of the Electoral Commission’s instructions on candidates whose election results are under challenge. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
