60,000 people have signed petition to ICC - says FDC
President Museveni.
Kampala- More than 60,000 Ugandans have signed up the ongoing petition to take President Museveni and key government officials to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity.
The petition is being spearheaded by the Opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and the mock “People’s Government.”
The petition, launched a week ago, is aimed at asking the prosecutor at the ICC, Justice Fatou Bensouda, to prosecute Mr Museveni and his implicated officials on crimes against humanity.
Daily Monitor was not able to get the exact figures, but Ms Ingrid Turinawe, the FDC secretary for mobilisation, said more than 60,000 people had appended their signatures on the hard copies of the forms and that more forms were being dispatched to the districts. She said about 130 districts and municipalities have already received the petition forms. By yesterday evening, 3,595 people had also signed the online petition.
Copies of the petition form have also been sent to the FDC diaspora chapter offices through the People’s Government ambassadors for signing, according to one of the organisers Mr Arthur Turyijuka.
“So far the response has been overwhelming. We may close the exercise earlier than anticipated and we are likely to get more than two million signatures,” Ms Turinawe said.
Police deploy drones
The FDC mobiliser also accused the police and other security agencies for deploying drones at both Najjanankumbi and Katonga Road offices to intimidate people from signing the petition.
Since Friday, FDC says they have been monitored by the drones, with the officials saying the deployment is aimed at stopping people from signing the petition.
“The process has been smooth except this deployment of the drones. They have been here since we started signing the petition, but this will not scare away the public because many are still signing,” she added.
By Monday, officials from Jinja District said more than 5,000 people had signed the petition.
Upcountry feedback
Across the country, district and regional coordinators say the petition has been greeted with excitement, with many willing to appending their signatures.
In Rukungiri District, the FDC executive coordinator for Rukungiri, Mr Caleb Musimenta, said they ran short of forms and had to order for more.
“Our target is 50,000 from the 16 sub-counties. We have got 15,000 signatures,” he said.
From Mbale, Mr Abdallah Magambo, the People’s Government coordinator, said while many people are signing the hard copies, he is also using whatsapp to send links to those who are willing to sign online.
