Sembabule, Uganda | URN | There is heavy deployment of police and the army in Sembabule district ahead of today’s National Resistance Movement (NRM) party primaries.
Armed security personnel are already patrolling the different areas of Sembabule to avert any cases of violence. The Deputy Inspector General of Police Sabiiti Muzeeyi has also camped in the area ahead of the polls.
Muhammad Nsubuga, the greater Masaka Regional Police Spokesperson says upon identifying Sembabule as a political hotspot, the regional security found it necessary for special deployment for purposes of maintaining order.
Nsubuga says that they have also called on the support of the army to back up police to secure the entire district during the elections.
He also says they have arrested six people in connection with political violence that has occurred in the area. Notably, Sembabule district has recently registered several incidents of political violence characterized by supporters of the various political camps fighting their rivals.
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On Monday, the Sembabule Woman Member of Parliament Anifa Kawooya who is now contesting for the Mawogola West Constituency seat was reportedly assaulted in a scuffle by supporters of her political rival and incumbent MP Joseph Ssekabiito who accused her of tampering with the party registers.
The heavy security deployment comes hours after the National Resistance Movement (NRM) party Electoral Commission cancelled the polls in Mawogola County West over campaign violence.