Busia Municipality MP arrested for defying Covid-19 directives

Busia Municipality MP, Mr Godfrey Macho was allegedly found mobilising market traders to open their shops. FILE PHOTO

What you need to know:

  • Traders say their merchandise is rotting away in their stores yet they have no alternative source of income.

Busia Municipality MP, Mr Godfrey Macho has been arrested on allegations of defying directives on the prevention of coronavirus pandemic and inciting violence.

Mr Godfrey Macho was allegedly found on Saturday mobilising a section of traders to go and open their shops and stalls in Busia market contrary to the directives issued by the district taskforce on coronavirus and president Museveni.

The Bukedi Regional Police Commander (RPC) Mr Julius Caesar Tusingwire said the lawmaker is currently detained at Tororo Central Police station.

“We arrested him for organising a section of traders to forcefully open shops and stalls in the market, something which jeopardises the fight against coronavirus in the district,” he said.

The market was closed in March this year by the Busia District response task force on Coronavirus after it was found that Kenyan traders were sneaking in the market through the un-gazzetted routes to sell their goods.

This, according to the district health officials, was putting the lives of Ugandan traders and buyers at risk of contracting the virus.

Mr Tusingwire explained the legislator was transferred to Tororo Central Police Station after getting intelligence information that some traders were mobilising to storm Busia Central in protest over his arrest.

Some of the vendors told Daily Monitor that they resolved to open the market by force because their requests to the district leaders to open it has not been respected for long now since it was closed.

“The market should be re-opened to allow us to go back because some of the goods such as maize flour, rice, beans are rotting away,” Mr Peter Okello, one of the vendors, said.