Six remanded for insulting president Museveni

Six people were arrested and remanded at Buwama police prison on Friday for booing president Museveni, police spokesperson Ms Judith Nabakooba said on Monday.

Speaking to Daily Monitor in an interview, Ms Nabakooba said, the matter is before court.

“I cannot comment on the matter but what I can say is that they were arrested, taken to court and remanded,” Ms Nabakooba said, without stating the charges preferred against them.

Early reports, however, published by http://www.afrik-news.com, allege that 20 people were arrested for booing the president while on a campaign trail at Buwama Market.

President Museveni has in the past two months been traversing the country as he campaigns for the February 18 presidential poll.

The report claimed that while addressing a rally at Buwama trading centre on Friday, a group of people started booing and hurling insults at him.

"A group of young men, who seem to be from one of the opposition parties, started shouting at the president immediately he started making his speech,” Mr Thomas Bwire, a police officer who was at the scene, said.

According to Bwire, the group shouted: "’we are tired of you, you have been in power for long enough,’ while others said ’you are a dictator. You are power hungry. You do not want others to rule.’"

Mr Bwire reportedly said the twenty people who hurled the "insults" at the president were arrested after the rally and taken to court and be “charged with befitting charges".

The Inspector General of Police, Maj Gen Kale Kayihura said he was not aware of the arrests adding that booing alone cannot tantamount to arrests.

“I am not aware of any arrests as it has not even been reported to me,” Maj Gen Kayihura said. “And I don’t think people can be arrested for booing.”

However, he said those who interrupt a rally or a meeting of an aspirant acts against the law, same to those who deface their campaign posters.

A number of people have been arrested in connection with campaign malpractices since the start of campaigns in late last year.