By Bondry Kilenga
With only a few days left to the presidential and parliamentary elections, Kotido District Returning Officer Julius Ogwang Ongom, has warned agents and candidates against collecting or holding Voter Location Slips (VLS).
On December 15, 2025, the Electoral Commission commenced the nationwide issuance of Voter Location Slips, a move aimed at easing voter identification and helping registered voters accurately locate their polling stations ahead of the 2026 General Elections.
According to the Ongom, the Voter Location Slips are being issued at parish and ward level, in line with schedules prepared by respective Parish and Ward Supervisors, who are employees of the Electoral Commission.
Ongom explained each, Voter Location Slip bears key particulars of a voter, including a photograph, full names, date of birth and detailed voting location information such as district or city, constituency, sub-county, parish and polling station.
He added that the slips also carry a unique barcode, which will be read by Biometric Voter Verification Machines deployed at all polling stations during the elections.
However, since the issuances of Voter Location Slips commenced, there have been growing reports of some agents and politicians in Kotido and other parts of the country collecting or holding Voter Location Slips for unclear purpose.
The latest incident involved Josephine Adoch, who was arrested on Monday evening for unlawful possession of 52 voter location slips belonging to different voters from various polling stations in Kotido Municipality.
SP Jimmy Tumwine, the Kotido District Police Commander said Adoch was arrested after police received information from a covert source accusing Adoch of collecting voter location slips from the voters.
He said that preliminary investigations indicate that Adoch collected 40 voter location slips from Locwe poling station, eight from Ministry of Works polling station and four from Umu Umu polling station.
According to Tumwine, charges of unlawful possession of government stores have been preferred against the Adoch.
It’s for this reason that Kotido District Returning Officer Julius Ogwang Ongom has cautioned agents and candidates against interfering with the electoral process by unlawful collecting or holding Voter Location Slips.
He stated that anyone found engaging in such and other activities that could jeopardise the electoral activities would be prosecuted in the courts of law.
Ongom also advised the public to report individuals moving around collecting voter location slips or in possession of election materials to the Electoral Commission and Police.
