By Solomon Hamala
Iganga
An aspirant for the Iganga LC 5 seat has pulled out of the race citing frequent intimidation of his supporters.
Vincent Bagoole who was contesting for the position of LC 5 seat on independent ticket said ever since he declared his intentions to join the race, he has been receiving several phone calls from anonymous people threatening his life and those of his supporters if he declined pulling out.
Bagoole, a retired head teacher formerly at Nabirye Primary School in Nakalama Sub County and a one time winner of the teachers ‘making a difference’ said he will now rally behind another independent candidate, Sinani Wakinyakali for the LC 5 seat.
He denied allegations that he had been bribed in order to pull out of the race in favor of another candidate.
“I cannot betray my supporters just because of the little money I would have been given,” he said.
Bagoole said he always had a dream of making it to the seat to fight corruption amongst district officials; improve on the road infrastructure besides ensuring the district increases on the number of first divisions by setting up a conducive learning environment for both pupils and teachers.
“As a professional teacher, I always get disturbed by the negative comments from the public after release of the Primary Leaving Examination results concerning poor grades in most government aided schools,” he said.
He urged his supporters to rally behind the independent candidate Sinani Wakinyakali to ensure they deny victory to the NRM flag bearer, Ezra Gabula.
The departure of Vincent Bagoole from the race leaves five others in for the position of LC 5 position.
The five are Ezra Gabula NRM, Shabiru Isabirye FDC, Sinani Wakinyakali, Paul Luganda both independents and Nasser Kongola NUP.
One of the supporters of Bagoole, requested him to contest again in the 2026 polls to ensure he fulfills his dream of making the district better.
John Dhabasada, said the district requires a person of high moral integrity to resist temptations of being bribed by corrupt district officials.
“Judging from his appearance, Bagoole looks a person with good moral values unlike most of the other contestants,” he said.
The District Police Commander (DPC) Iganga, Kenneth Muheirwe when contacted denied receiving any complaints from Bagoole claiming he was being intimidated by some anonymous people.
“He would have reported the matter to us so that we take necessary action instead of going to the media,” he said.
