The opposition Forum for Democratic Change-FDC party says more than 40 people including their President, Patrick Oboi Amuriat, have been arrested by police in Soroti.
While Amuriat and other officials were arrested last night in a security raid on Elisian Hotel in Soroti city, some other members including Deputy Lord Mayor Doreen Nyanjura were arrested this morning.
The FDC members had set up a camp at the hotel to monitor the Soroti East MP by-election.
The Soroti City East Division Mayor, Paul Omer, and the former Kasese Municipality MP, Robert Centenary were picked up together with Amuriat and 39 other members for allegedly campaigning after the stipulated time.
According to an employee at Elisian Hotel, a joint security team comprising the police and army stormed the hotel around 11:30 pm, and ordered everyone out.
She explains that most of the people feared coming out and locked their doors, which prompted the Police to use tear gas before breaking in all the guest rooms.
Simon Peter Sinama, a member of the FDC security team, says that after breaking into the hotel, the officers tore all the appointment letters for polling agents and confiscated a laptop with other important details.
However, Oscar Gregg Ageca, the East Kyoga Regional Police Spokesman insists that the suspects were engaged in illegal campaigns. The party leaders are in Soroti to oversee the election in which their own Attan Moses is a candidate for the Soroti East Parliamentary seat.
The party claim there are cases of vote rigging already being reported at certain polling stations but promise to fight until the end.
“Bogere Ramathan a Councillor at Kengere Ward was smoked out of his Muzigo where he was stationed distributing money with Pre-ticked ballots to those going to vote.
When vigilant people of stormed his Muzigo, Police hurriedly came in and took him away.
This isnt an election but rather a war zone,” the party wrote on their social media pages.
Three candidates including FDC’s Moses Attan Okia, the National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate, Herbert Edmond Ariko, and Pascal Amuriat from Uganda People’s Congress (UPC) are tussling it out in the by-election.
