Mvara SS Students Task EC Boss on Internet Shutdown, State Brutality During Elections
Justice Byabakama greets one of the students during a photo moment with Mvara S.S student leaders shortly after the meeting - Photo Credit: Andrew Cohen Amvesi.jpg
ARUA. Mvara Secondary School (SS) students in Arua City have asked Justice Simon Mugenyi Byabakama, the Uganda Electoral Commission (EC) Chairperson, to explain the circumstances under which the internet is usually shut down during elections.
They also sought answers from the EC Boss on the violent acts of the armed personnel like police and the army against citizens and some opposition candidates when it comes to the election period in Uganda.
The students raised the concerns during an interface with Justice Byabakama and his team from the EC at Mvara SS on Friday, July 19, 2024.
Byabakama’s visit to Mvara SS is part of the nationwide activity organized by the EC to sensitize students in secondary schools and Universities on elections and the need for learners to desist from acts of violence ahead of the 2026 general elections and beyond.
However, while in Mvara, Justice Byabakama was welcomed with several student concerns, including questions and comments on how elections are managed in Uganda.
Juliana Aseru Maga, an S.5 student, said: “During election season, there is always a problem of internet shutdown, and that follows complaints about the rigging of votes, so that makes us Ugandans think that we are not having free and fair elections. How is the electoral commission ready to remove this problem for us youths since we are the voters of tomorrow?”
Elvis Drileba, another student, observed that there was bloodshed in almost every part of the country during the recent presidential elections.
“Which initiative has the electoral commission security team put in place to ensure that there is no more bloodshed in Uganda for us to believe that elections will be free and fair this time?” Drileba asked.
Meanwhile, Innocent Okello raised concerns about the commercialization of politics in Uganda and the continued deployment of armed men in uniform at every polling station, which he says scares people from participating in voting.
“Yes, as said in the last elections, so many things happened, but one that catches my attention is that the law agrees and permits us to vote and support whoever our heart wishes to support, but why is it that some people are not given the privilege to exercise and support the people they want,” said Fibi Fimanibo, also a student.
“Like in the recent elections, there were candidates who were blocked from going to talk to their supporters; roads were closed for them. This candidate had to go through panya routes like you first get down the vehicle and walk while there are some candidates for whom the tarmac road is left, and everyone supports them. Don’t we have the right to support the people we want regardless of the colour of the cloth they are putting on,” Fimanibo wondered.
However, Justice Byabakama took time to explain to the students the roles of the EC during the election period and why security forces were needed at that time.
In his response, Byabakama urged the students not to accept being used by some politicians to cause violence during the election, warning that the act comes with severe consequences that may endanger their lives.
He further said the violence during elections is not caused by animals but by human beings, students included.
“The human beings are the causers and promoters of instability. So, when we want to stamp out violence and instability during elections, human beings must make a resolve. Actually, let us say no to violence during elections; the choice is ours. If we are going to address the issue of violence, that is why we are saying the peace we have found should be maintained,” Byabakama said.
He told the students and teachers that, as EC, they want the environment found in a place of peace to remain and prevail even during the electoral process.
“We must make a choice; that is why we are engaging with you, the young people. We must all make a collective choice and say we want peace; we want stability. The elections are coming, yes, but they will end and a country called Uganda will continue and therefore, let us have them in this environment of peace and stability,” Byabakama advised.
Byabakama noted that there is no way anybody would think that he should tell security forces to go home and sleep during elections, arguing that it is time some wrong elements take advantage to commit crimes, even to the extent of killing innocent Ugandans.
On the issue of internet shutdown, Byabakama said it is not the responsibility of the electoral commission. He instead reminded the students that it is the work of the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) to switch the internet on or off.