Besigye arrested as police break up rally
SOURCE: THE DAILY MONITOR, 20 JANUARY 2012
Dr Besigye behind bars at Kiira Road Police Station.
Posted Friday, January 20 2012 at 00:00
A planned Activists for Change (A4C) rally scheduled
for the Katwe Freedom Square was yesterday quashed by police, with Dr
Kizza Besigye and several opposition politicians violently snatched off
the streets and detained without charge for more than six hours.
The peaceful rally was part of activities planned by the A4C to launch the second phase of the pressure group’s Walk-to-Work campaign against the rising cost of living, corruption and bad governance.
In a statement late last evening, the Uganda Media Centre said police arrested 12 individuals at 3pm in connection with the planned rally and held them at Kiira and Jinja Road police stations.
The individuals would remain in custody as police
investigations continued. The names of the said individuals were not
provided. No tentative date of their release was given. By press time,
however, Mr Nandala Mafabi, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, said
all individuals who were arrested had been released on police bond.
The statement, signed by Media Centre Executive
Director, Mr Fred Opolot, had read in part: “No further comment will be
issued until all investigations are concluded.” The police chief, Lt.
Gen. Kale Kayihura, was also quoted in the statement, saying the police
was ready to “work in cooperation with anyone who wants to exercise
their constitutional rights.”
“We are ready to meet any such persons or groups to
facilitate their exercising of their constitutional rights in an
orderly, peaceful fashion,” Lt. Gen. Kayihura said. Forum for Democratic
Change party leader Besigye was among those tear-gassed and arrested as
he left the Inter-Party Cooperation offices on Katonga Road.
Dr Besigye and an entourage comprising Kampala Lord
Mayor Erias Lukwago, MPs Ibrahim Semujju Nganda, Matthias Mpuuga,
Wafula Oguttu and Nabilah Sempala; Anne Mugisha, Ingrid Turinawe, Sam
Mugumya, Francis Mwijukye among others, were initially stopped by
traffic officers.
Their drivers were then subjected to an on-the-spot traffic inspection for possession of valid driving permits and up-to-date vehicle insurance. Once cleared, traffic officers instructed the convoy to drive away from the city centre, towards the Fairway Hotel roundabout.
Their drivers were then subjected to an on-the-spot traffic inspection for possession of valid driving permits and up-to-date vehicle insurance. Once cleared, traffic officers instructed the convoy to drive away from the city centre, towards the Fairway Hotel roundabout.
The opposition leaders who insisted on driving to the
Kampala Sheraton Hotel, through Ssezibwa Road, refused to comply. At one
point, police contemplated arresting the eight drivers of the
opposition leaders.
Dr Besigye, Mr Lukwago and the others then
disembarked from their vehicles, opting to walk to the hotel. A scuffle
ensued as police blocked them from proceeding further. The entourage was
ordered to disperse. Instead, the A4C activists resorted to song and
dance, chanting to the police officers: “They are angry, we shall
liberate them.”
Police fired teargas and rubber bullets, causing a
stampede. Dr Besigye, Mr Mugumya and Mr Mwijukye were bundled into a
police van and driven to the Kiira Road Police Station at breakneck
speed.
At the station, Dr Besigye was ordered to remove
his valuables, belt and shoes. He was ushered into a holding cell and
locked up as he awaited the arrival of his lawyers Ernest Kalibala and
David Mpanga.
Speaking to this newspaper while in police cells, Dr Besigye said: “I am not shaken. This is another attempt to infringe on my individual rights by the powers that be. It is unconstitutional.”
Speaking to this newspaper while in police cells, Dr Besigye said: “I am not shaken. This is another attempt to infringe on my individual rights by the powers that be. It is unconstitutional.”
He recounted how he was stripped of his valuables
and shoes like a common criminal. Among those detained at Jinja Road
Police included MPs Oguttu (Bukoli South), Ssemuju Nganda (Kyadondo East
MP), Nagayi (Kampala Woman MP) and Makerere University student, Jessy
Nuwagaba.
Mr Mafabi, MPs Hussein Kyanjo and Abdu Katuntu were
assaulted by men in police uniform at the Jinja Road Police Station
where they had gone to visit the detainees. Ms Turinawe, Mr Mpuuga and
Mr Moses Kasibante, who had escaped the Ssezibwa Road police dragnet,
attempted to proceed to Katwe but were promptly arrested.
Earlier, Ms Turinawe dramatically escaped arrest as
she stealthily left her home amidst heavy police deployment. Katwe
grounds were cleared of A4C activists with police firing tear gas and
engaging angry youths in running battles.
Addressing journalists outside Kiira Road Police
Station, Deputy Police Spokesperson Judith Nabakoba said Dr Besigye and
his aides were being held under preventive arrest in accordance with the
Police Act.
“We have detained them to prevent any further
breach of peace and the destruction of property,” Ms Nabakoba said.
“They will only be released when the threat has been neutralised.”
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