By Our Reporters
Chairman Fred Nyanzi, elder brother to Bobi Wine, has explained the circumstances under which the Kyadondo East MP (who as we earlier reported had hesitated joining the by election campaign) was convinced and reluctantly found himself driving to Arua to campaign for Kassiano Wadri, a man whose bid he initially resisted saying he was too old to merit his support. Nyanzi, who years ago started luring his young brother into politics, says Bobi had opted out of the Arua campaigns but a group of leaders operating under the newly formed “People Powe Movement (PPM)” lured him to go. Nyanzi says these included himself, Abed Bwanika, Sam Lubega, Mike Mabikke, John Sebuwufu and later on Paul Mwiru. Bobi Wine, who got premonition and suffered several set backs as he prepared going to Arua, travelled on Saturday and arrived in Arua on Sunday. Nyanzi says they managed to convince a reluctant Bobi Wine about the suitability of Wadri’s candidature on Friday and plans on how and when to travel there began in earnest. He says whereas Mabikke, Lubega and other DP leaders were already in Arua, he travelled later to form Bobi’s advance team after they finally convinced him to buy into the Wadri candidature. Nyanzi says himself and the other People Power Movement leaders took four days of intensive arguments until Bobi accepted to go endorse their man Wadri.
Bobi’s point, as we at Mulengera news website reported earlier anonymously quoting his assistants, was that Wadri had been to Parliament before, had had his chance and Arua now needed younger blood. As we reported, following some interaction with Bobi, the FDC candidate the youthful Bruce Musema got the impression he was going to be the candidate for the big man from Kyadondo. Nyanzi says Bobi insisted on backing a much younger candidate than Wadri but doesn’t disclose who his choice was. Bobi told them backing Wadri would contradict his message focussing on fellow young people but the Nyanzis & Mabikke argued that Wadri was okay since their research showed he was the people’s candidate and since PPM’s message is one of people power, then backing a people’s favorite wouldn’t be a contradiction. Kyagulanyi and Nyanzi agreed that Bobi was to travel in his monstrous Tundura to Arua. Ex-Makerere guild President Roy Semboga, a good friend to Bobi, was assigned to go and rebrand the Tundura with the people power logos and colors. But according to Sunday Vision, Semboga got a terrible Boda accident as he rushed to link up with Bobi and travel to Arua together. This was the first sign to Bobi that this was an ill-fated trip but pushed on because the pressure from Nyanzi & other PPM leaders was too much. Mind you, as we reported earlier, Wadri was already under voter pressure after promising and failing to deliver Bobi to one of his rallies. The Nyanzis kept calling and told Bobi it was going to be bad if he didn’t show up because Wadri had already done his part of the bargain by accepting to don and promote the PPM colors for the remainder of his rallies. According to Sunday Vision, having missed out on Semboga, Bobi travelled with his other driver Farius Njuba, a one Mark and Mbogo. Njuba was on the steering up to Arua and the other driver Yasin Kawuma, who eventually got killed during the Monday fracas, travelled separately because Bobi dispatched him to drive his comrade in crime Francis Zzake the Mityana Municipality MP. Nyanzi says as Bobi travelled, Mabikke, Lubega John Sebuwufu & Paul Mwiru kept asking him where the big man was and when he was joining them on the trail. Eventually on Sunday morning, Bobi arrived in Arua and went straight to White Castle hotel where cheerful supporters received him in a procession. Late Sunday evening after the day’s rallies, Bobi had a meeting with Kassiano Wadri at Royal Hotel where they discussed the Monday program which was very important since this was to be the last campaign day ahead of Wednesday polling. After the meeting, Bobi addressed a few scribes before driving to Pacific Hotel where he slept. Nyanzi says on Monday all went well but after the rally police split up their procession which caused commotion and confrontation that culminated into teargas and live bullets being shot including the two that caught Yasin Kawuma. Nyanzi remorsefully notes that after their Monday rally, their procession headed in the direction of where the President had just addressed Nusura Tiperu supporters. He says the two processions clashed a bit but police & SFC intervened and the leaders carried on to Wadri’s campaign hoping all was well. At the office, Wadri addressed the cheerful supporters, thanked them and asked them to remain peaceful so that they don’t miss voting on Wednesday. Then the rest of the campaign managers retreated at Royal Hotel with Wadri who ordered drinks for them. They mostly took evening tea and even Bobi joined them. Nyanzi says that even as people took the drinks in a celebratory mood because of the momentum their PPM had created in Arua, Bobi seemed restless.
That he told Nyanzi “this place doesn’t feel okay” and said he was having premonition something wrong was going to happen. He then begged to leave but before he did, he said he was convinced Wadri was winning. He offered to perform for free at Wadri’s victory party and even assigned his PA David Lule aka Selector Davie to make a proper schedule to ensure that day was properly booked for Arua fete. Bobi left in a Land cruiser with his henchmen back to his hotel room at Pacific. As soon as they left, Nyanzi too told Wadri he wanted to go and sleep. He realized he had forgotten his phone which he had given a waiter to charge for him. All of a sudden he heard a hail of bullets and everybody took off for dear life. Njuba, who was to drive Nyanzi to his hotel with Bobi’s Tundura, ignited the vehicle to leave and when soldiers heard its thunderous roar, they turned to see what was happening and bullets were shot catching Yasin Kawuma who all along had been relaxing and resting in the Tundura. Nyanzi says he tried saving Kawuma’s life and took off when he realized he was dead. Nyanzi says he fled into somebody’s house nearby that gratefully wasn’t properly locked. He and forced the door open and took refugee in the house where soldiers later landed on them and cained them thoroughly. He says the soldiers punched him until he started crying like an old goat. Nyanzi says at Pacific Hotel, Bobi had managed to hide but there a woman (perhaps a spy) that told the soldiers to search harder insisting the bad man from Kamwokya was hiding in one of the rooms. In the end Nyanzi says it’s one of the colleagues he had left the Wadri meeting at Royal Hotel with that directed the mean-looking solders to where the youthful legislator was hiding. Nyanzi says this friend succumbed and gave away Bobi, who had hid successfully, because the beating was too much. He says Bobi’s eventual arrest was preceded by heavy gun fire inside the hotel compound and that he thought that his brother had been killed like Yasin Kawuma. In the end, Nyanzi says Bobi was chained both legs & hands and then herded out of Pacific Hotel. During his appearance on CBS radio Saturday morning, Abed Bwanika was asked about the mystery grader police publicist Kayima said Bobi’s supporters had in their Monday procession & planned to use to harm the President. Bwanika said much as he was the overall in-charge of Wadri’s campaign strategy, he doesn’t know where it came from and the person who brought it. Nyanzi says this grader was very controversial and up to now they don’t know who brought it there and was responsible for it. Gratefully Kayima says it was impounded and its in police custody.
