Besigye arrested as police break up rally

[ByaseL]

A planned Activists for Change (A4C) rally scheduled for the Katwe Freedom Square was yesterday quashed by police, with Dr Kizza Besigye and several opposition politicians violently snatched off the streets and detained without charge for more than six hours.

The peaceful rally was part of activities planned by the A4C to launch the second phase of the pressure group’s Walk-to-Work campaign against the rising cost of living, corruption and bad governance.

In a statement late last evening, the Uganda Media Centre said police arrested 12 individuals at 3pm in connection with the planned rally and held them at Kiira and Jinja Road police stations.

The individuals would remain in custody as police investigations continued. The names of the said individuals were not provided. No tentative date of their release was given. By press time, however, Mr Nandala Mafabi, the Leader of Opposition in Parliament, said all individuals who were arrested had been released on police bond.

 

[mageuzi1992]

The continuing dictatorship!

 

[Askari Kanzu]

Jamaa wamemwachia!

Uganda police release Besigye, more rallies planned
Fri Jan 20, 2012 12:16pm

* Police say freed him because no longer posed threat

KAMPALA Jan 20 (Reuters) - Ugandan police said they had released the country's main opposition leader and several of his allies late on Thursday after detaining the group to stop them leading an anti-government rally in the capital.

Veteran leader Yoweri Museveni last year accused rival Kizza Besigye of inciting unrest and cracked down hard on a wave of opposition-led protests led by his one-time political ally.

"We had arrested them as a preventive measure to stop them from causing chaos and disrupting public peace and order," deputy police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba told Reuters on Friday.

"We later got satisfied that they were no longer a threat to public order and we decided to release them," she said.

Armed police intercepted Besigye, who heads the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, and other opposition politicians on Thursday as they headed towards the demonstration venue.

A protracted standoff ensued, ending after police fired a single teargas canister that scattered a small crowd, and bundled the politicians into vans.

Besigye, who was defeated by Museveni at the ballot box last year for the third time, plans to quit his role as FDC chief to devote more time planning protests, he told Reuters last week.

Semujju Nganda, an opposition lawmaker, vowed the rallies would continue. "We'll never succumb to the ... abuse of the police. Our 2012 momentum has only begun," Nganda told Reuters.

Museveni, once lauded for his liberal economic policies, has faced criticisim from opponents and rights groups for an increasingly autocratic leadership style. (Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Richard Lough and Tim Pearce)

-Reuters

 

[Secretary General]

Haki lazima ipiganiwe.