Kampala metropolitan police commander, Frank Mwesigwa, told The Observer the politicians were detained at undisclosed locations.
“We cannot allow the protests to go on. These people were planning to block roads by burning tyres and police can’t sit back. We learnt a lesson from the past walk-to-work protests and we can’t let it happen the second time,” Mwesigwa said.
In 2011, the police broke up peaceful opposition (walk-to-work) demonstrations against high fuel prices and rising cost of living in a brutal campaign which left scores dead.
Like in 2011, the police yesterday did not prove its claims that the peaceful protests were a cover to cause chaos.
Addressing media on Saturday at his Katonga road office in Kampala, opposition kingpin, Dr Kizza Besigye, challenged the elite, concerned about President Museveni’s mismanagement of the country, to take a stand beginning Tuesday.
He said, they should “… either walk, move on boda bodas or use public means as a form of protest.”
Besigye himself wasn’t allowed to leave his home. Police camped outside his gate. He later called a media conference at which he lashed out at government for stifling peaceful opposition voices.
The Forum for Democratic Change founding father also condemned the hurling of grenades into opposition politicians’ homes.
“They do that not only to intimidate them but also their families so that they can put pressure on them to abandon the struggle,” Besigye said.
Turinawe, for example, was pulled out of a commuter taxi and bundled into a waiting police van. The police action runs counter to articles 43 and 29 of the constitution, which guarantee freedom to protest and demonstrate in a democratic society.
UHRC spokesperson Florence Mugerwa said that if the opposition intends to hold peaceful demonstrations, police ought to respect their rights.
“The laws are clear, people are free to express themselves but police are the custodian of the law. If police sees that there is a security threat from a demonstration, they can intervene,” Munyirwa said.
Law society president Francis Gimara said all freedoms must be respected because it is what the constitution requires.
“It is not for police to decide which freedoms to grant them. It should instead ensure that they [freedoms] are promoted in a manner that protects human rights,” Gimara said.
Calm in the city
A stroll by The Observer around Kampala’s central business district yesterday revealed relative calm. At Makerere University, all gates were clear. Lectures at the institution went on undisturbed.
A student (name withheld) at the university said Ugandans are not happy but: “many think if you go to the streets, police or military will shoot you but Ugandans are not cowards as Museveni might think. He is pushing us to the wall and when our backs finally touch the wall, we shall strike”.
Kyambogo University was not any different. Deployment at the Constitution Square was at its usual premium levels. There were about seven police trucks.
“I would rather work and feed my family than engage in a protest where I’m not sure I will come back alive, this government is brutal,” Hamis Nduga, a boda boda cyclist, said.
Nduga added; “Give us good schools, work on our roads, build hospitals, pay civil servants, crush corruption and then you can think of changing the constitution,” he said.
In downtown areas, some people put on the protest symbol: red ribbons, caps or red shirts and dresses.
Sandra Akello, a shopkeeper, said: “So what if our businesses are disturbed, does it mean we should accept to continue living in this situation? No, we have to stand up and show our dissatisfaction with what some greedy people in government are doing.”
For John Kitimbo, the opposition should be “planning how to keep those greedy NRM MPs out of parliament in the next election. We should make sure NRM doesn’t win parliamentary seats countrywide and we see how Museveni will run government with an opposition parliament.”
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