Scores of opposition bigwigs over the weekend rallied support for Asinansi Nyakato alias Kamanda, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) flag- bearer in the Hoima District Woman MP by-election.
The opposition leaders included Col (rtd) Kizza Besigye, Patrick Oboi Amuriat, the FDC party president; Elias Lukwago, the Lord Mayor of Kampala and Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine, the Kyadondo East MP and leader of the People Power formation.
Mugisa Muntu, the leader of the Alliance for National Transformation, was also among those who campaigned for Nyakato. They addressed a rally at Kitana Primary School playground in Kigorobya town council on Saturday evening.
Nyakato is facing off with Harriet Mugenyi Businge alias Baby Face, the flag-bearer of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party.
The Electoral Commission has set September 26 as polling day. The Hoima district Woman MP seat fell vacant after the incumbent, Tophace Kaahwa Byagira, opted to represent the newly created Kikuube district.
Besigye said this was the time for the people of Hoima and Bunyoro to tell the country that they were yearning for change by voting out all NRMMPs and replacing them with those from the Opposition.
Oboi urged the electorate to form committees at parish level to guard their votes. He said this time, they were ready to escort the polling materials from Kampala to the polling stations and tally center.
Lukwago castigated the Government for not solving land problems in the sub-region. He said it was possible to defeat Museveni in Bunyoro the way it was in Kampala.
Bobi Wine challenged the people of Bunyoro to vote for Opposition, saying it would be a clear signal that Museveni is being uprooted. He reaffirmed his intention to contest for president in 2021.
However, he said if the Opposition wants to capture power, they should front a joint candidate.
Muntu said they fought for the NRM government, but later got demoralized after it diverted from the ideals they fought for.
Nyakato pledged to raise the issues affecting the people of the area in Parliament, citing low prices of agricultural produce, as well as a poor education and health system.
She said she would ensure a public university is established in Bunyoro and address issues surrounding the tobacco trade in the area.
Relatedly, Businge held rallies in the Market cell, Kijungu; Kalyabuhire, Kiryatete, and Duhaga in Kahoora and Busiisi divisions.
She urged the people to vote for her since she will work directly with the President to implement the NRM manifesto to cause more development.
She promised to lobby for an increase in budgetary allocation to the health, education, agriculture and gender sectors.
