President Warns Anti-Corruption Protesters in Uganda: Stay Informed

Ugandan protesters who plan to hold a banned anti-corruption march on Tuesday are “playing with fire,” the country’s president has warned.

“Some elements have been planning illegal demonstrations, riots,” President Yoweri Museveni said in a televised speech late Saturday.

Museveni has dominated the East African nation with an iron fist since 1986.

He stated that the protesters included “elements working for foreign interests” but did not elaborate.

Earlier Saturday, Ugandan police warned organisers that the planned protest in the capital, Kampala, would be prohibited due to intelligence that “some elements were trying to take advantage of the demonstration to cause chaos in the country”.

“Demonstrations can only be allowed under our mandate if they do not cause public disorder or disrupt the lives of lawful citizens,” Ugandan Police Operations Director Frank Mwesigwa told AFP.

The protest organisers told AFP that they will continue with the rally nonetheless.

“We don’t need police permission to hold a peaceful demonstration,” Louez Aloikin Opolose, one of the major protest leaders, stated on Saturday. “It is our constitutional right.”

The protesters hope to take the march past parliament, which they accuse of tolerating corruption.

“Our starting point in the fight against corruption is parliament… and the demonstration is on irrespective of what police is saying,” protester Shamim Nambasa said.

The NGO Transparency International ranks Uganda low on its corruption perceptions index. With the least corrupt countries ranking highest, Uganda comes in at 141 on the list of 180 countries.

The anti-corruption protesters have been keeping track of the sometimes deadly demonstrations that have shaken neighbouring Kenya for more than a month.

The Kenyan protests, which began as peaceful rallies over contentious tax hikes, grew into a larger anti-government campaign, with angry citizens demanding action against corruption and alleged police brutality.

Since the demonstrations began on June 18, at least 50 people have died and 413 have been injured, according to the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights.

AFP