Dozens of individuals were detained in Kampala, Uganda’s capital, after participating in scattered anti-corruption protests despite an official ban.
Lawyers reported that around 60 people, including a prominent TV presenter and three young protest leaders, were quickly brought before courts and remanded in custody following a march on the country’s parliament on Tuesday.
President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda for nearly four decades, had previously warned that protesters were “playing with fire.”
The march, organized on social media, stemmed from anger over longstanding allegations of corruption involving several high-profile public officials.
These protests were partly inspired by recent demonstrations in neighboring Kenya, which led President William Ruto to abandon proposed tax increases.
Police had announced beforehand that they would not permit the march, citing threats to Uganda’s “peace and security.”
On Tuesday, riot officers manned roadblocks, while security forces sealed off roads and guarded the parliament building.
Images showed marchers holding signs such as “Stop corruption” and labeling the parliament as a “den of thieves,” with others reading, “We are peaceful protesters.”
Some images also depicted protesters being forcibly detained by police and loaded into riot vans.
Protester Samson Kiriya, speaking to AFP through the bars of a van after his arrest, declared, “We are tired of corruption.”
Among those detained were well-known television and radio presenter Faiza Salima, along with protest organizers George Victor Otieno, Kennedy Ndyamuhaki, and Aloikin Praise Opoloje.
Bernard Oundo, president of the Uganda Law Society, noted that one hearing saw 50 people charged.
He remarked, “This was a rushed trial. They were arrested and taken to court in a very short time and remanded to prison without securing them bail. We will ensure these people receive justice.”
On the eve of the march, Uganda’s main opposition leader, Bobi Wine, reported that security forces had besieged the Kampala headquarters of his National Unity Platform party.
He claimed that some party officials had been “violently arrested” and that the offices had been transformed into a “military barracks.”
Following the march, Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, expressed his support for the protesters on X, writing, “Salutations to all who have courageously marched and are still marching against corruption and misrule – even in the face of very brutal actions by the military and police! The cowards have been picking up young people whose only crime is lifting up a placard.”
He added that legal and welfare teams would be provided to those in need.
Earlier this year, the UK and US imposed sanctions on several Ugandan officials, including parliament speaker Anita Among and three former or serving ministers, due to alleged involvement in corruption.
Source-BBC
