GULU – Kasiano Wadri the new Member of Parliament for Arua Municipality has said the court decision that barred him from accessing his electorate will cause more uproar in the district.
Hon. Wadri made the statement shortly after he, together with MPs Robert Kyagulanyi of Kyadondo East, Hon Gerald Karuhanga of Ntungamo Municipality and Hon Mwiiru Paul together with others were on Monday 27, released on bail by Gulu High Court Judge Stephen Mubiru.
The MPs together with over 20 people were arrested on August 13, ahead of the Arua Municipality by-election on allegation of attacking the presidential convoy and were duly charged with treason.
Wadri said he will respect the court decision however since he must represent his people, he will plead for the judgement to be revised because his absence may cause more chaos in the constituency.
“Abandoning my people for 90 days without effective representation will be a disservice to [them] and I will come back to court to plead so that the judgement is revised,” he said.
“The people of Arua will go into a flame if the same attitude of government harassing and denying their voice to be heard continues, and they will legitimately be right because their MP must go and interface with them,” he added.
Wadri said he believes the decision of the Arua electorate to vote for him even while he was incarcerated is a record in the politics of Uganda and it is a loud voice of trust in him. The MP said he will reciprocate by working hard to representing their voices in Parliament.
Even though the legislator says life at Gulu Central Police station is the worst experience he has ever had, he commended the authorities of the Gulu Central Prison for good hospitality.
“I commend the leadership and management of Gulu main prison because they were so humane, and the only institution left in Uganda that I believe that is still professional is Uganda Prison Service,” Wadri lauded
The MP said he was angered by the inhumane manner in which they were arrested as most of them lost their property to Special Force Commands (SFC) men who ransacked their rooms; “Our rooms were ransacked at the time of arrest, all my valuables including money, wallets, ATM cards, cameras, phones, driving permit, National ID and other documents were taken and I have no official documents on me, so I am what I am now,” he said on Monday.
The MP and 11 others were released on non-cash bail of Shs5million each.
