Opposition activists abandon police bus in Buikwe, walk to Kasangati
FDC officials who abandoned the police bus (in the background) transporting them from Nalufenya to Kasangati police station to secure bond after it caught fire. Courtesy photo
What you need to know:
- The 57, who included FDC presidential aspirant Patrick Amuriat, the Mbale chairperson Margaret Wokuri Madanda and other party mobilisers, were being transported to the Kasangati Police Station to sign bond forms following their release.
- By press time, police was trying restrain the activists from walking after reportedly receiving information that their colleagues had planned to cause chaos in Lugazi town.
KAMPALA: Fifty seven FDC activists who had been detained at Nalufenya in Jinja District have abandoned a police bus that was transporting them to Kasangati Police Station in Wakiso District and opted to walk after it caught fire.
The activists, some of whom this newspaper talked to, said the bus first developed a mechanical problems around Mabira forest in Buikwe District after which police was called to the scene and fixed the problem.
The bus broke down again at Bulyantente in Lugazi town council along the Kampala-Jinja highway, barely 20 minutes after the first incident which raised suspicion by the occupants who moved out and opted to walk the remaining distance.
The suspects being transported by police in a bus after FDC leaders secured them bond . Photo by Denis Edema
The 57, who included FDC presidential aspirant Patrick Amuriat, the Mbale chairperson Margaret Wokuri Madanda, Deborah Kyomugisha, a human rights activist and other party mobilisers were being transported to the Kasangati Police Station to sign bond forms following their release.
The suspects were arrested on Tuesday and briefly detained at Kasangati Police Station before being transferred to Nalufenya detention centre.
All the other activists had been similarly detained at Nalufenya.
Their release came after a team of FDC members including Ingrid Turinawe, Wafula Oguttu, Nathan Nandala Mafabi and Apollo Kantinti, stormed the dreaded Nalufenya detention facility and piled pressure on the authorities demanding to see the prisoners and know why they had been detained. It was after this that, police offered to drive the suspects back to Kasangati police station for bond.
Deborah Kyomugisha, a human rights activist was among those that had been detained at Nalufenya
By press time, police was trying restrain the activists from walking after reportedly receiving information that their colleagues had planned to cause chaos in Lugazi town.
Meanwhile, responding to police announcement that they had the activists for allegedly holding illegal meetings under the deeply-flawed Public Order Management Act (POMA), Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, said: “The Ugandan police are no strangers to making arrests in utter disregard for constitutionally-guaranteed rights, but this most recent case is patently absurd. These 57 individuals are guilty of nothing more than attending a peaceful meeting. They should be released immediately and unconditionally.”
According to Wanyeki, “The Public Order Management Act is deeply flawed and has previously been used by the police to crack down on the opposition and civil society. This latest mass arrest is no exception.”
The police did not specify what these individuals were discussing, but opposition activists say the arrests are linked to ongoing attempts to drop age limits from the constitution and allow President Museveni, 72, to run for another term in 2021. The current age limit to run for president is 75 years.
