Police arrest clinic owners protesting double taxation

Nabbed. Some of the arrested health workers are taken to Kampala Central Police Station aboard a police pickup truck yesterday. PHOTO BY STEPHEN WANDERA

What you need to know:

  • The suspects started trickling in at the venue as early 8am and by 9.30am, when they were about to start marching to the Constitutional Court, they were rounded up and taken to Kampala Central Police Station (CPS).

KAMPALA. More than 2,000 private clinics yesterday closed in the city starting on a three-day strike over what they described as unfair double tax.
About 20 representatives of the health workers, under their umbrella organisation, Kampala Private Medical Practitioners Association (KPMRA), yesterday turned up at railway grounds to march to the Constitutional Court in protest over the delay of their case challenging the tax. They were, however, rounded up by police.
“Trading License Act was recently amended that requires us (clinic operators) to pay trading license to Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA). On top of that, we pay professional fees to our respective professional bodies annually. This double taxation is what we have challenged in court but it is taking ages for even our case to be hard,” Mr Richard Kwizera, a member of KPMRA told Daily Monitor.

The gathering
The suspects started trickling in at the venue as early 8am and by 9.30am, when they were about to start marching to the Constitutional Court, they were rounded up and taken to Kampala Central Police Station (CPS).
CPS district police commander Joseph Bakaleke said the health workers did not have permission to hold the demonstration. “This is an illegal gathering and we cannot allow you to proceed. Arrest all of them,” he ordered his men. Police encountered minimal resistance from the health workers as they were taken into custody. After several hours of questioning at CPS, Mr Aggrey Mushagara, the lawyer for the health workers, said they agreed with police to allow them march to court today and they were promised police protection.
He said five clinic operators were arrested at the weekend for operating without trading licenses. “We demand that they are unconditionally released because they are being forced to pay unfair taxes,” one of the striking colleagues said.