Chaos has rocked Buyende district as Milly Babirye Babalanda, the minister for presidency, tries to launch her parliamentary seat bid for Budiope West. Currently, the minister is not a Member of Parliament.
She has previously expressed interest in standing for MP in 2026 in Kamuli Municipality, Buzaaya County, Jinja City, Jinja North, and Kaliro district. She has however been unwelcome in these constituencies for different reasons.
Interest in Budiope West
It was surprising that in February, after being rejected in Jinja, Babalanda shifted her focus to Budiope West, one of the constituencies in Buyende district.
While Babalanda has not publically declared her intentions to stand, rumors indicate that she has started conducting clandestine meetings – meeting opinion and community leaders.
This speculation has rubbed the people of Budiope West the wrong way because Babalanda who is born of Kamuli district is regarded as a foreigner who is only coming to Buyende for political manipulation.
Babalanda is rejected
On Tuesday, 26th March 2024, Budiope West was rocked with protests in major trading centres as voters staged a demonstration expressing Babalanda’s unwelcome stay in the constituency.
Speaking to journalists, most of the protestors said they could not allow Babalanda to disorganize the district because she has money. They described her as a political reject and a politically confused person.
Babalanda’s interest in standing for a political office is well known but she has failed to zero on a constituency where she can cement her presence and convince voters – she moves from one place to another hence people calling her indecision confusion.
Voters in Budiope West have not been shy about rejecting Babalanda saying they prefer a person born in the constituency to represent them but not a mercenary who doesn’t their challenges.
“We cannot allow Babalanda to come here and exploit us because she has money. We have seen that people who use money to get into political office are not developmental,” Mulimba said on Tuesday.
Chaotic Women’s Day celebrations
The Tuesday protests came a day before the scheduled and belated Women’s Day celebrations for Buyende district on Wednesday, 27th March 2024 at Iringa Township Primary School.
Babalanda was the scheduled Chief Guest at the celebrations.
On the day, residents planted posters rejecting Babalanda and warning her not to dare stand in Budiope West because they wouldn’t vote for her. The posters were pinned on trees, school and church buildings, and buildings with shops.
This did not go well with Babalanda who heavily deployed ahead of her arrival at the celebrations. Heavily armed police and military personnel were seen guarding the venue and the minister when she arrived.
Protestors donning black t-shirts with the minister’s photo with a cross in red were seen in the village expressing their dissatisfaction.
Youths brutally arrested
It was not long before police swung into action to arrest some of the youths it accused of leading the demonstrations.
The arrested suspected were briefly held at Iringa Police Station before being transferred to Buyende Central Police Station where they spent three days. Arrested on Wednesday, the suspects were released on Saturday without appearing in the courts of law.
The suspects – Mathias Mwase, Patel Waiswa, Tom Nsandha, and Bosco Waiswa – were accused of inciting violence and acts of public nuances. They were released under unclear bail terms.
