Piglets dumped at DP Headquarters

A group of disgruntled Uganda Young Democrats (UYD) members have dumped eight black piglets at the Democratic Party (DP) headquarters on Balintuma Road.

Tension erupted when two large boxes were dropped during a weekly press briefing. Journalists and office staff rushed out to investigate, only to find security guards frantically chasing and catching the piglets that had been released from the boxes. The commotion brought traffic to a standstill as motorists stopped to witness the chaos.

After dropping the boxes, the two individuals on boda-bodas sped off immediately. The piglets were wrapped with placards bearing messages such as ‘DP is bleeding,’ ‘Byabakama wake up,’ and ‘DP is rotten,’ apparently protesting the current DP leadership.

Helen Sayuni, the current UYD President elected at the Mbarara party delegates’ conference, condemned the protests by UYD members, criticising them for not following proper channels by writing to the party’s top organs to address their concerns.

“They go around creating scenes in the middle of the road, carrying pumpkins, now they’re carrying piglets. Will this change the current DP leadership? No,” Sayuni said. “I call on them to come and sit at the table so we can listen to them,” Sayuni added.

Kennedy Mutenyo, the DP Electoral Commission chairperson, identified the group behind the protest as being led by Antony Wandimba, a former personal assistant to Norbert Mao.

“I saw him as I was entering the offices. They were standing across the road, and he had covered his face with a mask and wore a black cap. He told me he had come to pick up nomination forms, but he was lying. They were plotting to drop the piglets and cause a scene,” Mutenyu said.

Mutenyu noted, however, that it’s their constitutional right to protest, but questioned whether such protests would achieve their goal of removing Mao from office.

Just two weeks ago, a group of UYD members led by Ismail Kiirya were intercepted and arrested by police while marching to the Electoral Commission.

They were waving flags and carrying protest materials, demanding answers to petitions they had filed over alleged irregularities in the DP internal elections that led to Norbert Mao’s presidency.

In response, Paul Bukenya, the Electoral Commission’s deputy spokesperson, acknowledged receiving several petitions related to the Mbarara DP delegates’ conference.

He urged petitioners to respect the commission’s internal processes. “This is a matter that is before the commission for consideration. You don’t give the commission an ultimatum. “We are the ones who released the road map, mobilised the stakeholders, and encouraged Ugandans to participate in the elections. We are intentional and professional in how we handle petitions brought before us, and we follow due process,” Bukenya remarked.