Police dares anti-corruption activists on July 23 demos 

Police have dared supporters of the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) party and other anti-corruption activists to go ahead and march on Kampala streets tomorrow Tuesday, July 23. 

For several weeks, Ugandan youths have been rallying Ugandans to come out and participate in non-partisan demonstrations against alleged corruption at parliament orchestrated by speaker Annet Anita Among.

Today, police spokesperson, ACP Kituuma Rusoke, said the police and sister security agencies are more than ready to combat avert any activities intended to surrender the country into recklessness.

Rusoke said police have already heightened deployment in Kampala including at NUP headquarters in Makerere-Kavule in preparation for planned subversive activities with the peak expected to be tomorrow starting with the march to parliament.

“We cannot surrender this country to such reckless processions. Whenever we have reliable intelligence that certain activities are likely to disrupt order, we heighten our deployment. NUP called everyone from all walks of life. We are saying the longer you take to recognize the rights of others, the longer you will not enjoy your rights too,” Rusoke said.

As early as yesterday Sunday evening, security started surrounding NUP headquarters in Makerere-Kavule and today Monday morning, police and military personnel presence was almost outnumbering the party’s supporters who were not even allowed to access the premises.

NUP president Robert Kyagulanyi via X said that NUP was not in charge of the march to parliament but as a party, they support whoever is organizing it. This was after some of NUP’s leaders including Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake Butebo and nine others were arrested and charged with several charges including unlawful assembly. Zaake was particularly charged with reckless driving, driving without a driving licence and obstructing lawful officers. They have been remanded to prison until Thursday this week.

“For the record, the 23rd July #March2Parliament protests are not organized by NUP. But we support them with all our might because we are #PeoplePower and we absolutely believe in the power of the people. We support every effort to protest against injustice, corruption and misrule,” Kyagulanyi said.

Kyagulanyi added that efforts by the regime to make it look like a NUP initiative are meant to weaken the mobilisation and make it appear like a partisan matter.

“The #AntiCorruptionProtests as we know them are organized by the young people of Uganda regardless of their age, religion, tribe or political affiliation! The criminal regime and its antics will certainly fail!!” Kyagulanyi said.

However, Rusoke has advised NUP and other people organizing protests to understand that they do not have absolute rights.

“You need to collaborate with existing regimes on ground especially the security regime to see how we can plan and ensure there is nothing affecting the lives, nothing affecting other people’s businesses,” Rusoke said.

Security said no one shall be allowed to march on the streets, advising the activists and NUP to remember that there are many other people who are not part of their demonstration plans and need to use the streets for trade and safe mobility. Over the weekend, President Museveni warned the those planning the demonstrations that they were playing with fire.