MP Adeke, Kampala deputy lord mayor Nyanjura remanded for protesting
Soroti Woman MP Anna Adeke and Kampala deputy lord mayor Doreen Nyanjura have been remanded to prison following their arrest on Monday morning for protesting former presidential candidate, Dr Kizza Besigye’s detention and the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities.
The two were arrested alongside four other activists under the People's Front for Transition (PFT) pressure group led by Dr Besigye.
They were identified as Margaret Wokuli Madanda, Susan Nanyonjo, Mariam Kizito and Alice Amongi.
During their morning protest staged at Mulago roundabout in Wandegeya, Kampala, the MP and others who were holding placards were seen and heard chanting through megaphones “Free Besigye! Museveni will go some day.”
"Fellow Ugandans, we are the women brigade of the Red Card front. We are here to speak against the injustices this government is committing against Ugandans. The prices are high and the economy is very bad yet government continues to run and prevail over a very large cabinet. The cost of administration is too high. Why don't they reduce the cost of public administration? Why are they running a cabinet that is larger than necessary? Why are we budgeting for State House to use Shs1.8 billion daily when we don't have money as a country. It's not a Ukraine issue [like government has been saying]. It's an issue of governance," MP Adeke was heard shouting through a megaphone before they were rounded up by police.
They were taken to Wandegeya police station where they were held for hours before being presented at the Law Development Centre (LDC) court late in the afternoon and charged with inciting violence.
However, they denied the charges and applied for bail whose hearing was stopped mid-way with the magistrate reasoning that it was already 5pm and therefore, court proceedings could not continue.
The magistrate ordered for their remand to Luzira prison and said they would be returned to court the following day at 10am for further hearing of their application.
After court proceedings, their lawyer who is also the Kampala Lord Mayor, Mr Erias Lukwago told journalists at court that "whatever transpired here was choreographed by the state because these people were arrested early in the morning but they decided to keep them at Wandegeya police station where they were detained the whole day and they decided to bring them very late to court and the plea taken close to 5pm," he said.
Their remand comes days after Dr Besigye who is currently on remand in Luzira appealed against Buganda Road Court magistrate’s decision to ask him for Shs30 million cash as one of the bail conditions after he was arrested in downtown Kampala protesting government inaction to cushion vulnerable Ugandans against skyrocketing commodity prices with the excuse that prices in the country are being influenced by external factors like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Covid-19 which battered the global economy.
