KAMPALA – Many politicians and ministers inclusive have been going about making rallies and festivities yet these were banned by the government because in a bid to control the spread of Covid-19.
This is, however, worrying election experts who are wondering why some politicians are left to meet their voters and others denied the same opportunity.
According to Crispin Kaheru, an elections expert, NRM politicians giving a deaf ear to the set regulations aimed at preventing the spread of Covid-19 and are not reprimanded has given others liberty to continue flaunting the directives.
“These leaders that draft the laws draft them for different people. Among the rallies I have seen, they are protected by police and this is not fair and that is why Ugandans are complaining,” he said in an interview on one of the local television stations on Monday.
Much as the police has directed politicians who have been meeting their voters and the police officers who neglected their duties of ensuring the directives by helping these politicians to appear before them, Kaheru believes there should be a consensus between all the sectors concerned to forge a way out for a levelled playing field.
“The electoral commission, police and the politicians need to sit and agree on a way they can carry out rallies without putting people’s lives at a risk because doing away with rallies in election time is a bit impossible and not sustainable,” he explained.
The seasoned election observer added that the Ministry of Health guidelines can be enforced in these meetings but saying people will not do any rallies and everything will be scientific will not be possible and we shall be lying to ourselves.
Over the weekend, the NRM secretary general, Hon Justine Kasule Lumumba directed for the arrest of the party’s members who flaunted the directives of not holding rallies and called for the reprimanding of the officers who neglected their duty of enforcing the directives by helping these politicians carry out the rallies as they offered them protection.
