Owani Dick Denis, the candidate of opposition political party, Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) in the upcoming Omoro County MP by-election, who was reportedly kidnapped by unknown people has been found.
FDC on Thursday morning said Owani kidnapped by unknown gunmen ahead of his nomination on the same day. The party said his whereabouts are yet to be known at the time.
Party President, Patrick Oboi Amuriat, their candidate was at the tike on his way back to Omoro from a Rupiny radio talk show in Gulu at 8:30pm when this happened.
He said during the violent attack, Owani’s vehicle windscreen was smashed, his bag with documents stolen and subjected to physical tortured.
“We highly suspect this to be the handwork of the usual suspect fearing the strength of FDC in this particular by-election,” Amuriat said.
He would moments later, reveal that Owani was on his way to Gulu from Kamdini Police Station where he “reported at 1 am for his own safety after yesterday’s kidnap ordeal.”
Police has since confirmed interacting with the FDC candidate and say they are investigating the matter.
According to Ongom David Mudong, the PRO Aswa regional police, the candidate claims he was abducted by occupants in an unknown vehicle who were trailing him.
“He claims they caught up with him from Adida village in Omoro District but later abandoned him at Corner Kamdini in Oyam District,” Ongom says.
“We do take matters of threats to life including abductions seriously. Our territorial teams in Aswa and North Kyoga have interested themselves in the matter and opened inquiries to help prove or disprove the allegations.”
“It should be noted that this is a serious matter and the police has subjected it for investigations,” he adds.
Ongom urged the complainant to cooperate with police with all the necessary information, before revealing that the complainant in the alleged incident is out of danger and headed for nomination.
More than 10 aspirants picked nomination forms for the Omoro County Parliamentary by-elections. The Electoral Commission declared the Omoro county parliamentary seat vacant early last month following the death of former legislator and speaker of Parliament, Jacob L’Okori Oulanyah.
Oulanyah succumbed to cancer in Seattle in the United States of America on March 20. Moses Kagona, the Omoro District Electoral Commission Registrar, says that ten aspirants including party candidates and independents have picked nomination papers.
They are Erick Lajul, Jolly Grace Laker, Andrew Okot, Terrence Odonga, and Jimmy Walter Onen, all independents. The others are National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate Andrew Ojok Oulanyah, Forum for Democratic Change Party candidate, Dick Denis Owani, National Unity Platform (NUP) party flag bearer, Simon Toolit Akecha, Brian Cana of Justice Forum (Jeema) and Oscar Kizza from the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT).