As Ugandans came out in large numbers to vote in presidential and members of parliament elections, one journalist moved hearts after getting from hospital to go cast his ballot.
Ugandan Journalist Ashraf Kasirye has been taken from his Intensive Care Unit (ICU) bed at Rubaga Hospital with an ambulance to cast his vote in Nansana.
He was escorted, helped walk and tick his ballot by his wife Zamu Kasirye.
The journalist has spent the last two weeks in Intensive Care Unit after he was hit on the head by a projectile when he was covering Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine’s political rallies/campaigns in Masaka.
His counterpart Daniel Lutaaya was also injured on the same day Kasirye was hurt.
“I tried to Interview Kasirye after he voted. He failed to speak well. Ashraf now stammers and struggles to remember his words. You could see that he was trying to speak but just couldn’t,” a heartbroken Lutaaya said.
Lutaaya said the only thing he made from Kasirye’s incoherent speech was that he was glad he had voted.
“What I could make out from Ashraf Kasirye’s words after he voted were “I am very fulfilled with what I have done”. This is saddening. Lutaaya said.
This comes as voters in Uganda continued to line in long queues to elect a president and Members of Parliament on Thursday, January 14, 2021.
Most presidential candidates had cast their ballots by 1pm.
Concerns of failed biometric machines saw the Electoral Commission resort to manual voter identification and voting.