Campaigners and politicians are competing for spaces to place their campaign posters in different parts of the city. Among the most attractive spaces within the central business area are busy streets, wall fences, electricity poles and any visible area across the city.
This has been observed in areas like down town, Wandegeya, Rubaga division, Kireka, Kyambogo, Namboole, Bweyogerere among other areas.
On Namirembe road in town, the battle is between the campaign posters of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni the flag bearer of National Resistance Movement-NRM and Kyagulanyi Sentamu Robert also known as Bobi wine, the flag bearer of National Unity Platform-NUP.
Along this road, there are men and women who stand in front of their posters from morning to evening attracting the attention of people passing by to look at the posters and whoever is willing can contribute some money. There are over 10 posters of Kyagulanyi and over 8 posters of President Museveni and each with its attendants.
This online publication has learnt that if Kyagulanyi’s poster is erected somewhere, on the next day, NRM supporters also have to bring President Museveni’s poster to compete with the people power team.
Ronald Ssebuliba who is incharge of Kyagulanyi posters on Namirembe road says he is doing that as one way of showing and campaigning for their presidential candidate since he is being stopped to campaign publicly.
Ssebuliba notes that they were the first to put up Kyagulanyi’s posters and when NRM realized that they were attracting the attention of many people who also contributed generously, they also brought their big posters of President Museveni.
According to him, this has saved them from being brutalized by the security forces as it was before. He says that, when police come now and find that NRM is also there, they end up leaving both.
When asked who sponsors them, Ssebuliba said that they contributed as People power supporters to have the first posters and now other posters are bought by the money they collect from well-wishers.
Hundreds contribute money and other items daily to these groups to facilitate their cause in the struggle. Other items include, drinks such as sodas and water, sweets, decorations, masks among others.
This Webiste has learnt that at the end of the day such items and money is collected and taken by these people who spend days showing support and this money is used to make more posters for other streets in the city. Each poster costs around shillings 100,000.
Joseph Turyasiima an NRM supporter says that as NRM supporters, they could not sit and look at People power people campaigning yet they are all in race.
He told this Website that they looked for money from NRM flag bearers like Salim Uhuru Nsubuga and bought loud speakers and made big posters for their candidate President Museveni.
In other parts like in Kireka and Namboole in Kira Municipality and Rubaga division, this competition has ushered in the device of defacing posters that do not belong to their political parties.
Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the member of parliament of Kira Municipality says that because the town is crowded, there are specific spaces where everybody would like to be. If you go there first, the others will create tension and remove the posters of the opponents because they also want to be there.
Section 83 (2) of the Parliamentary Election Act 2001, states that “Any person who maliciously defaces or removes or tears any election poster of any nominated candidate commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding thirty currency points or imprisonment not exceeding one year or both.”
In Kyambogo and some parts of Namboole, President Museveni’s posters were put on top of Kyagulanyi posters. This also observed that many posters, especially those of president Museveni are plucked off in parts of Namboole, Rubaga and Ntinda.
The Electoral body gazetted November 9, 2020, to January 12, 2021, as campaign period for all nominated MP candidates. The Electoral Commission (EC) also set January 14, 2021 as the day when Ugandans will go to polls to elect their Members of Parliament and it will be the same day for the election of President.
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