Opposition leader Bobi Wine said heavily armed security agents were besieging his party headquarters on Monday and had arrested numerous leaders on the day of an anti-corruption march that the authorities had banned.
The protest comes two days after President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country with an iron fist for nearly four decades, warned Ugandans that taking to the streets on Tuesday would be “playing with fire”.
Wine, actual name Robert Kyagulanyi, told AFP that police troops had encircled the headquarters of his National Unity Platform (NUP) in Kavule, a suburb of Uganda’s capital Kampala, ahead of a planned party press conference.
“Our headquarters are under siege by heavily armed police and the military. This was expected by the regime but we are not giving up on the struggle to liberate Uganda,” he said.
Wine said several party leaders had been “violently arrested” but this was not confirmed by police.
Ugandan police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke said the deployment of the police and army at the NUP offices was made “out of security concerns”.
“There was intelligence… that there was to be a large crowd which had been mobilised to attend the press conference that could have led to disruptions of peace.”
Ugandan authorities have frequently cracked down on the NUP and Wine, a popstar turned politician who challenged Museveni unsuccessfully in the last elections in 2021.
“As Ugandans march to parliament to protest tomorrow, they should be aware that the regime is ready to shed their blood to stay in power but this should not scare anyone,” Wine added.
“We want a country where we all belong not for the few in power.”
– ‘Anarchic approach’ –
On Saturday, Ugandan police said they had informed organisers that they would not permit Tuesday’s march, which has been organised on social media by young Ugandans with the hashtag #StopCorruption.
“Some elements have been planning illegal demonstrations, riots,” Museveni said in a televised address later that day.
“You are playing with fire.”
The anti-graft movement in Uganda has taken inspiration from anti-government demonstrations that have shaken neighbouring Kenya for more than a month, led largely by young Gen-Z Kenyans.
Rusoke said Ugandan police were seeking to dissuade protest organisers from taking “what we see as a potentially anarchic approach”.
“We reiterate our position that we shall not tolerate disorderly conduct.”
Graft is a major issue in Uganda, with several major scandals involving public officials, and the country is ranked a lowly 141 out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s corruption index.
Earlier this year, the United States and Britain imposed sanctions on several Ugandan officials including parliamentary speaker Anita Among and two former ministers over alleged corruption.
The accusations relate to the theft of roofing materials destined for the poor under a government-funded project that were redirected to politicians and their families.
Currently, four legislators from Uganda’s ruling party and two senior civil servants are in custody for allegedly embezzling large sums of money meant to compensate farmers who lost property during the 1980s bush war that brought Museveni to power.
Meanwhile, Kenyan activists are vowing to continue their protest action against the government of President William Ruto.
Peaceful rallies launched last month against controversial tax hikes have degenerated into deadly violence on several occasions, with 50 people killed since June 18, according to a state-funded rights body.
Activists are now calling for Ruto to resign and are also seeking action against corruption and alleged police brutality.