Police block activists from visiting Besigye in Luzira
Some of the activists with food items they said they were taking to Dr Kizza Besigye in Luzira prison before they were arrested in Kampala yesterday. PHOTO / ISAAC KASAMANI
What you need to know:
- The activists under their body, the Revolution Against Dictatorship (RAD), first held their planning meeting at City House Nakasero before they were intercepted by police.
Police in Kampala yesterday blocked activists who had planned to visit political activist and former presidential contender Kizza Besigye in Luzira prison.
The activists under their body, the Revolution Against Dictatorship (RAD), first held their planning meeting at City House Nakasero before they were intercepted by police.
Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson Patrick Onyango said in the process, three activists were arrested, arguing that they were planning to cause chaos in Kampala. The suspects were detained at Central Police Station Kampala on charges of inciting violence.
“The political activists first went to St Balikuddembe Market [Owino] and bought some food stuffs pretending that they were going to visit Dr Kizza Besigye in Luzira upper prison, they started walking to Luzira but police intercepted them from Kampala Road and took them to Central Police Station,” he said.
Mr Vincent Musoke, the chairperson of RAD, earlier told journalists that they were launching a campaign to join Dr Besigye who hitherto his arrest was rallying Ugandans against the sky rocketing prices of basic commodities.
Their issue
Mr Musoke, just like Dr Besigye, called upon the government to halt unnecessary expenditure and reduce on the number of ministers.
“Why do we have 80 ministers not 20? In America, we are seeing 20 ministers but they are doing a great job. In this poor country Uganda, we have almost 80 and more, we request the government to reduce on this expenditure,” he said.
He also noted that the government is spending a lot of money in the Democratic Republic of Congo fighting the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) when people in Karamoja are dying of hunger.
“The government should put more money in our hospitals, agriculture sector and in people who are doing small scale businesses. It’s the duty of the government to put more money in these people so that we boost our economy,” he added.
Dr Besigye has been remanded twice in a period of less than a month for protesting against high commodity prices.
He is today expected to return to the High Court in Kampala to challenge his denial of bail by Buganda Road Court Magistrate Asuman Muhumuza.
Additional reporting by Dorothy Naggita
