DOZENS of people who joined scattered anti-corruption rallies in the capital Kampala on Tuesday in defiance of an official ban have been charged and held behind bars, their lawyers said.
About 60 people, including a prominent TV and radio presenter and three young protest leaders, were hurriedly brought before the courts and remanded in custody on charges including being a “common nuisance”, they said.
President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the East African country with an iron fist for almost four decades, had warned at the weekend that the demonstrators were “playing with fire”.
Riot police were out in force across Kampala, manning roadblocks especially near the business district, while officers sealed off roads to parliament.
Police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke had said the authorities would not allow any demonstration that threatened Uganda’s “peace and security”.
The call to action over corruption was organised by young Ugandans online, with colourful posters urging people to march on parliament, drawing inspiration from neighbouring Kenya’s mostly Gen-Z-led anti-government protests.
Graft is a major concern in Uganda, with several high-profile scandals involving public officials, and the country is ranked a lowly 141 out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s corruption index.
“We are tired of corruption,” protester Samson Kiriya shouted from between the bars of a police van as he was arrested.
About 60 people who were detained during the rallies were brought before the courts in separate hearings, their lawyers said.
They included well-known television and radio presenter Faiza Salima as well as a social media influencer and a doctor, lawyer Ashraf Kwezi told AFP.
“The three were charged with a flimsy offence of being a common nuisance… and disorderly after they participated in the protest today but they denied the charges,” he said.
Three protest organisers named as George Victor Otieno, Kennedy Ndyamuhaki and Aloikin Praise Opoloje who were arrested as they marched to parliament have also been charged.
