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from HASSAN ONYANGO in Kampala, Uganda
Uganda Bureau
KAMPALA, (CAJ News) – UGANDAN state security personnel have arrested several leaders of the opposition on the eve of a planned march to Parliament in protest against corruption.
Anti-corruption activists are organising the Tuesday march under the aegis of the #March2Parliament, which the administration of President Yoweri Museveni has banned.
Museveni, in a televised address on Sunday, accused foreign powers of financing the planned protests. Kenya’s government raised similar allegations last week.
Police and the military in Uganda have singled out the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) for a clampdown, despite the party insisting it is not planning the protests but is in solidarity with the marchers.
Ahead of Tuesday, NUP reported the arrest of several members by police and the military, in what is a crackdown by the country amid fears that the protests have been inspired by the demonstrations in Kenya, the eastern neighbour.
The Makerere area of the capital, Kampala, was tense on Monday as the military and police sealed off the headquarters of the NUP.
This was ahead of the opposition movement’s press conference.
“The cowardly regime is so afraid of the people because they know how much they have wronged them,” NUP leader, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu said.
“They are so afraid of our message. Blockades like these are never a sign that they are so strong- they’re a sign that they are so weak,” the opposition leader also known as Bobi Wine added.
Like the ongoing protests in Kenya, youth are at the forefront of the planned anti-corruption march in Uganda.
Ssentamu expressed solidarity.
“We support every effort to protest against injustice, corruption and misrule,” he said.
“The anticorruption protests as we know them are organized by the young people of Uganda regardless of their age, religion, tribe or political affiliation.”
“I support the young people 100 percent and am glad to see them leading from the front. I didn’t organise this protest, but both the party and I support it,” Ssentamu said.
NUP reported that several leaders and senior members were arrested on Monday.
These include Deputy President for Northern region, Lina Zedriga Waru, and Members of Parliament, Francis Zaake, Hassan Kirumira, Brian Mungu, Shamim Nabakooza, Ibra Ssemanda and Charles Tebandeke.
They had been denied bail as of Monday after court appearances.
“Our efforts to get bail were futile as the state claimed they needed more time to respond,” NUP Secretary General, David Rubongonya, said.
He said the detained officials were all “very strong.”
“The continuing use of the criminal justice system to persecute political opponents…We shall overcome,” Rubongoya said.
A security think-tank forecast clashes between protesters and security forces, as the enforcers are known to employ heavy-handed tactics in the country of over 49 million people.
Last month, security forces used tear gas and fired live ammunition to disperse crowds gathering in the Lubigi area of Kampala, protesting evictions by the National Environment Management Authority of Uganda (NEMA).
Kituuma Risoke, police spokesperson, accused the organizers of a “potentially anarchic approach” after placards emerged mobilising citizens to “occupy all streets in Kampala” for the march.
“We reiterate our position that Uganda Police Force shall not tolerate disorderly conduct,” he said.
In June, the United States imposed sanctions on five current and former Ugandan officials for their alleged involvement in corruption or gross violations of human rights.
On Monday, Museveni directed the Criminal Investigations Directorate to arrest and prosecute government officials linked to ghost civil servants on the payroll.
In power since 1986, he is one of Africa’s longest serving leaders.
Critics accuse the veteran leader (79) of presiding over an autocratic government and rigging elections to stay in power. His Kenyan counterpart, Ruto, has been in power since 2022.
– CAJ News
The post Uganda clamps down on anti-graft protest first appeared on CAJ News Africa.
Source of original article: CAJ News Africa (www.cajnewsafrica.com).
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