Violent elections making NRM unpopular – party cadres say

Pictures of David Steven Omagor in a torn shirt and jacket being helped to his feet by friends surfaced on social and mainstream media on Monday.

Omagor alleges that goons with the help of police officers assaulted him at the Bukedea district electoral commission head office.

He had gone to get nominated for the LC5 seat by-election set for June 2023. His nomination papers were also lost in the melee.

Omagor claims that in the Monday scuffle, he lost campaign money worth Shs162 million to his attackers he says were wearing police uniform.

“Money worth Shs20 million belonging to the wife of the owner of the house I lodged in was also taken along with my $2, 300 and my executive wristwatch, Omagor is quoted by Daily Monitor saying.

Omagor is a member of the Transformer Cadres Association Uganda, a group of NRM cadres who participated in party primaries in 2020 but didn’t make it to the 11th Parliament.

To protect their own, the Association Wednesday issued a strongly worded press statement protesting and condemning the ‘horrifying’ mistreatment of Omagor.

The Association said Omagor is a member of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) who has severally unsuccessfully competed to become a Member of Parliament (MP).

The most recent is the 2020 election when he contested and attempted to become MP representing Kachumbala constituency.

“Unfortunately, Hon Omagor has suffered unprecedented violence, particularly in the 2020 NRM primaries, and his life has been at risk since then,” the Association said in a statement.

The Association now is demanding speedy investigations into his case for justice to be served. “But in the same tone, we decry the growing violence in NRM elections which is making the party unpopular,” it said.

Adding: “Consequently, we ask the NRM party Chairman, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, and the Secretary-General, Rt Hon Richard Tadwong, to compensate Hob Omagor for the damages that he has incurred,”