Councilor assaulted for mobilizing residents to block road works

Busia, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Stanley Wejuli Guloba, the Namungodi town council LC V councilor in Busia district is nursing injuries after being assaulted by angry residents for allegedly trying to frustrate the rehabilitation of the 28kilometers Masafu-Bukobe road.

The rowdy residents pelted the councilor with stones and canned him mercilessly on Friday evening at Mumutumba trading center in Masafu sub-county for allegedly mobilizing some residents to block the road works until they are compensated. Masafu-Bukobe road is part 80kilometer road network listed by Busia district for rehabilitation within three months.

Trouble for the councillor started when he went to Mumutumba trading center in Masafu sub-county to mobilise residents to oppose the road works until they get their share of the Shillings 28 million purportedly set aside by the district council to compensate people affected by the road works.

However, the Busia District Council Speaker, Charles Malowa Kudedi, says no money was aside for compensating residents. He says that they only provided Shillings 400million to fuel the road equipment. Remigiyo Wabwire, one of the residents in Bukalikha village affected by the road works, says that they were surprised to see the district councillor mobilizing them to protest the road works, which left them without any other option but to attack him for fighting the development of their area.

He says that they voluntarily accepted to cut down trees and crops along the road to ease the rehabilitation works because of the start of the road for over ten years.

Geoffrey Wanyama, another resident, says that the councilor pissed them off when he started insulting them for refusing to buy into his proposal to stop the road works.

Godfrey Mutima, a resident of Busedu village who witnessed the incident, says that several people descended on the councillor, adding that some of them wanted to torch his vehicle.

Ben Wabwire Wangisa, the Bukalikha village LC I chairperson who rescued the councillor from the angry residents, says that he dragged him to his home from where his driver picked him up.

He condemned the councillor’s attempt to incite residents against the road rehabilitation works.  Wejuli’s driver, James Mangeni told URN that his boss was getting treatment at an undisclosed private health facility within Busia town by the time of filling this story.

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