Seven pro- Mbabazi youth arrested

Seven youth linked to former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi have been arrested in Kampala.
The youth under their Umbrella body, the ‘NRM Poor youth’ were arrested on Monday by police led by Kawempe DPC Patrick Alinyo for holding an illegal assembly.
Among those arrested is their National coordinator, Mr Richard Kirekyankuba and other members who included Vincent Kaggwa, Godfrey Mumba, Mubarak Senteza and a one Semakula.

They had just finished addressing the media about their plans to walk to Kenya to petition US president Barak Obama upon his visit next month. The walk dubbed “the long walk to freedom” is meant to coincide with Mr Obama’s visit to Kenya in July.
The youth also unveiled some of Mr Amama’s plans, claiming his presidency would distribute hoes and seedlings to each farmer to boost agriculture.
The youth pointed out that they would further distribute seedlings for coffee, mangoes and oranges.
“We want Uganda to go back to the level where we were better than Brazil in producing coffee in the whole world, which pride we have lost under this regime,” Mr Kirekyankuba said.

According to the youth, each village under the Mbabazi will have a healthy centre IV on top of working village health teams.
The youth said they would soon embark on a countrywide programme of distributing books and geometry sets to primary and secondary schools.
However, Mr Alinyo told Daily Monitor that the youth were arrested because they were holding an illegal assembly, contrary to the Public Order Management Act 2013.

“They did not inform us (police) about this meeting and neither did they have a letter of approval to hold it. We have not yet decided where to detain them from,” Mr Alinyo said.
Since early last year, the youth have been involved in running battles with police over ‘unauthorized’ protests and illegal assemblies in Kampala. The youth blame government for the increasing levels of youth unemployment, poverty and corruption tendencies in the country.

In March this year, a combined security squad consisting of counter-terrorism personnel and riot police quelled a demonstration of the NRM poor youth outside the American Embassy in Nsambya, a Kampala suburb.
The youth became conspicuous when they donned T-shirts with former Amama Mbabazi portraits.
They also lifted placards with Mbabazi and US President Barack Obama’s pictures with words: “Obama and Mbabazi, save Uganda NRM Poor Youth and the poor people of Uganda”.
Police swung into action and began arresting them. Some slipped through up to the main gate of the heavily guarded and fortified embassy where they were cornered.