Police warn Opposition over storming Parliament today

KAMPALA. Anyone who will flock to Parliament today protesting the voting process on the proposed removal of presidential age limit will face the police wrath, the force's spokesperson Emilian Kayima, has warned.
While addressing the media on national security status, Mr Kayima said police had learnt of Members of Parliament whom he equated to ‘drama actors’, inciting the public to storm Parliament during the house proceedings warning that police and other security agencies shall not allow any kind of chaos around the Parliamentary Chambers.

Police advised the citizens to mind their own businesses and let the MPs whom they entrusted with the mandate to deliberate on their behalf. He said police would exercise its constitutional mandate to protect the Parliament and its members from any kind of violence.
“Our intelligence has revealed that some MPs who like drama so much have rallied the public to flock to Parliament tomorrow [today]. As police, we discourage the public from engaging in violence because we shall not allow that to happen,” Mr Kayima said on Monday.

Police warning comes at the time when MPs opposed to the amendment of Article 102(b) of the Constitution that caps presidential age at 75 have declared this week as the “red ribbon, Togikwatako week.”
Asked on whether police would deploy outside and inside Parliament, Mr Kayima said it would depend on the security threat that will be geared towards the Parliament premises.
“MPs security inside Parliament is handled by the Speaker of Parliament. Besides, we have a full directorate that handled issues related to Parliament,” Mr Kayima said.

Mr Kayima did not pronounce himself on whether police would block some roads leading to Parliament, but he asked the public to cooperate with traffic police.
“Roads may not be blocked but there might be some diversions and we request the drivers to respect the traffic rules that may be put at these diversions,” he said.

The police spokesperson declined to reveal the number of security officers who have been prepared to man roads around Parliament and others ahead of the anticipated protests against age limit removal. The voting process on the passing of age Constitution amendment Bill, 2017 starts today in accordance with Article 262 of the Constitution that states that a Bill for an Act of Parliament to amend any provision of the Constitution, other than those referred to in Articles 260 and 261, it is supported at the second and third readings by the votes of not less than two-thirds of all Members of Parliament.
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