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There was some drama and tension in equal measure when Gen Katumba Wamala, the chief of defense forces (CDF), clashed with a voter at Mbuya Church of Uganda primary school polling station.
The two quarreled over the presence of soldiers at the polling station.
It all started when Gen Wamala walked to the polling station to appraise the voting situation only to be confronted by a voter, who identified herself as Anne. She complained about the heavy presence of army men at the station.
She insisted that the army should streamline the manner in which soldiers are brought to a polling station without intimidating other voters in the line. In response, Gen Wamala angrily said there is no law barring soldiers from voting at anytime. This drew a bitter exchange between the two.
Wamala later told journalists that soldiers have a constitutional right to vote and any attempts to deny them that right can’t be tolerated. He also defended the presence of soldiers in many other parts of the country. He said they were deployed to back up police in the event of violence or chaos.
Elections within Mbuya barracks and its neighboring precincts have in the past been a bone of contention, with civilians accusing the army of rigging. However, Wamala dismissed this.
