The republic of uganda in the supreme court of uganda at kampala

(f) to take steps to ensure that there are secure conditions necessary for the conduct of any election in accordance with this Act or any other law.”

The principle behind these provisions is that of free and fair elections. It is convenient to deal with this complaint together with the allegation of interfering with electioneering activities of the Petitioner since this is an aspect of failure to provide conditions of freedom and fairness during campaigning and voting. The Petitioner complains in Para 3 (1) (n) of the Petition that contrary to Section 25 of the Act, the 1st Respondent’s Agents and Supporters interfered with the electioneering activities of the Petitioner and his Agents.

Section 25 of the Act creates an offence of interfering with electioneering activities of any person. The offences is committed by uttering or writing words to create hatred or disharmony; organising groups to train them in the use of violence or force; obstructing the free exercise of voting; compelling a candidate to withdraw; threatening any candidate or voter or inducing candidates or voters to fear through of witchcraft or divine censure. The principle underlined here is again of free and fair election.

Section 2 (1) of the Act defines agent by reference to a candidate as including his representative and polling agent of a candidate. In this complaint it is alleged that it was the 1st Respondent’s Agents and Supporters who interfered with the electioneering activities of the Petitioner and his Agents.

The UPDF was accused of playing a major role in carrying out acts of intimidation, harassment, arrest through violence, which undermined the principle of freedom and fairness. The PPU played a special role in Rukingiri and it was also accused of intimidation, harassment and causing injury and death. Other security agencies like the LDU5 were also accused. The RDCs, DISOs, GISO5 and LC officials and the 1st Respondent’s Supporters were also alleged in participating in these acts of violence and harassment. I shall now deal with the evidence that was adduced by the Petitioner to support the allegations and the evidence in rebuttal by the 1st and 2nd Respondents.

In his affidavit in support to the Petition, the Petitioner alleges that during the whole period of the Presidential Election Campaigns, the 1st Respondent deployed the Army and Major Kakooza Mutale’s paramilitary personnel of Kalangala Action Plan all over the country and directed the Army Commander Major General Jeje Odongo and other Senior Military Officers to be in-charge of security during the whole Presidential Election process and subsequent to this, his supporters, campaign agents and himself were harassed and intimidated and a number of his supporters and campaign agents were assaulted and arrested.

He states that the 1st Respondent deployed the Presidential Protection Unit soldiers in Rukungiri District as soon as the Presidential Election Campaigns started to protect his supporters and these PPU soldiers intimidated and harassed his supporters and campaign agents all the time.

On 16th February 2001 when he went to address a Campaign Rally at Kamwenge Town in Kamwenge District, he found that agents and supporters of the 1st Respondent had organised themselves along the streets of Kamwenge Town carrying posters of the 1st Respondent, singing their campaign slogans and throwing stones at their vehicles and this interfered with his campaign and his supporters were intimidated and assaulted. As the programme of the Presidential Campaigns shows the 1st Respondent was supposed to be doing his campaigns in Gulu on that day.

On 2nd March 2001 at about 10.30 p.m., he arrived in Rukungiri Town in a convoy of motor vehicles of his supporters who had met him at the Kahengye Bridge about 20 km from Rukungiri Town. As the convoy came into Town, many town residents who were his supporters came to the roadside clapping as a sign of welcome. He then saw may soldiers, of the Presidential protection Unit come from all directions wielding truncheons and submachine guns and started beating the people on the roadside ferociously causing them to run screaming in all directions. The soldiers then attacked the people in the vehicles of his convoy and some came to attack the vehicle in which he was seated. The policemen who were detailed as his bodyguards had to threaten to open fire in order to stave off this attack.

His convoy continued slowly under the protection of the police guards to his village home in Rwakabengo. Many of the supporters who had been attacked by the presidential Protection Unit in the town ran to his compound and spent there the night for fear of being attacked if they dared go back home that night.

At about 10.30 p.m. he went back to Rukungiri Town to Rondavles Hotel where he found the Regional Police Commander (South Western) Mr. Stephen Okwalinga and reported what had happened that evening. He reported to him that he had information from them that the PPU soldiers planned to stop people from attending his rallies the following day. The Regional Police Commander assured him that he would effect deployments to ensure that his planned campaign rally would not be disrupted and that he was going to stay in the District to personally supervise the security for the period of the Presidential Election.

On the 3rd March 2001 as he addressed rallies at Nyarushanje, Nyakishenyi, Kanungu and Kihiihi, and at all these places, he observed that all his supporters were in terrible fear for their personal security because of the heavy deployment of the Presidential Protection Unit and the Local Defence Unit in their respective areas by reason of intimidation and harassment. Due to the said heavy deployment of PPU soldiers and LDUs in the whole district of Rukungiri and the resultant tension, he was forced to cut out rallies organised for him at Bwambara and Bugangari in Rujumbura County in order to get the main campaign rally at Rukungiri Town early.

On that day he arrived at the main rally in Rukungiri town at about 5.00 p.m. and in his address to the people he informed them that he was aware of the state of terror created by the PPU soldiers and that for their sake he had to be very brief so that they could return home before dark; and he appealed to all his supporters to refrain from violence even in the face of extreme provocation. The main Rally in Rukungiri Town ended at about 6.00 p.m. and the people moved out of the playground the venue of the Rally peacefully. He then went back to his home to collect his luggage and proceed to Kampala. Shortly after getting home he heard gunshots from the direction of Rukungiri town Centre which continued for about 20 minutes; and then he saw some people come running from town to his home for safety.

He went back to town at about 7.00 p.m. and found the town completely deserted except for the PPU soldiers and a few people wearing campaign T-shirts of the 1st Respondent and he saw next to Ijumo Hotel a White Truck surrounded by about 10 to 12 PPU soldiers who were throwing people onto this White Truck. He stopped by Mr. Charles Makuru’s residence where he found many people having taken refuge in Makuru’s compound and left for Mbarara town where they spent the night.

When he reached Mbarara town he telephoned Mr. Charles Makuru to find out the situation in Rukungiri town and he told him the situation was still tense and that he had tried to get in touch with the Regional Police Commander and discovered that he had been recalled to Police Headquarters in Kampala early that afternoon. Subsequently he went back to Rukungiri and was shown the grave of one Berondera who had been shot dead in that incident.

He stated that he then knew that one person died, 15 persons were seriously injured and hospitalised and very many others sustained minor injuries as a result of the attack by soldiers on that day in Rukungiri Town and all this was reported in the Sunday Monitor of 4th March 2001. He further claimed that all this time when Presidential Protection Unit soldiers were deployed in Rukungiri District, President Museveni was not physically present in that district.

The Petitioner then details out his evidence regarding the Okwir saga, which has already been considered above. The Petitioner claims that the 1st Respondent made repeated statements justifying the actions of the Military including PPU during the Presidential Election process.
He states that following all these events he cancelled his scheduled campaign trip to Adjumani and other Districts of West Nile and lost 3 days of campaign. In the meanwhile he sought audience with the Electoral Commission to complain about the escalating level of violence, intimidation and harassment of his agents and supporters and he did so when he met the Electoral Commission on the 22 February 2001.

Following this meeting with Electoral Commission, the Chairman of the Electoral Commission wrote to the 1st Respondent, of the Armed Forces appealing to him to restrain the army from interfering with the Presidential Election process and not to deploy the PPU where the President of Uganda is not personally present. The letter, which is dated 24th February 2001, read as follows:

“RE: Violence and Intimidation of Candidates

The Commission wishes to appeal to you, Your Excellency, as the head of State and fountain of honour in Uganda, to intervene and save the democratic process from disintegration by ensuring peace and harmony in the electoral process.

The Commission has received disturbing reports and complaints of intimidation of Candidates, their agents and supporters, which in some cases has resulted in loss of life and property.