We Won’t Allow You to Occupy City Streets and March to Parliament – Police Insists One Day Before Demos

Hours before the start of planned protests by Ugandan Gen Zs and other citizens, Uganda Police Force (UPF) has emphasized its decision to block any attempts to occupy streets of the capital Kampala and major cities as well as march to an anti-corruption march to parliament  and calls for Speaker Anita Among to resign over allegations of corruption and abuse of office.

On July 15, 2024, police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke issued the force’s warning to Ugandan youths to desist from taking part in the planned demos, which government fears could be a clone of the ones that have thrown President William Ruto’s government and the nation of Kenya, Uganda’s eastern neighbor, into a political crisis.

A week since the warning, and with hours before the planned protests, Rusoke has insisted that the protests would disrupt trade, public order and congest city streets, further making it clear that they would not be allowed.

“The Uganda Police Force (UPF) has clearly articulated its position regarding recent events. on July 15, 2024, UPF issued a warning to unidentified individuals engaged in a mobilization campaign across social media platforms. On that date, these individuals notified the Inspector General of Police about their intention to march to parliament by way of precession and demonstration,” he said on July 22.

“The mobilization placards called upon Ugandans to occupy all streets in Kampala as part of their march to parliament. Such a mass occupation of the streets from the police perspective would likely result in significant traffic congestion, disruption of trade, and disturbances to public order.”

A group of youths organizing the protests met police officials at the Naguru-Kampala-based police headquarters on July 18. Rusoke said the meeting was “an effort to dissuade the organizers from this potentially anarchic approach.”

He added: “Following a thorough security assessment regarding the feasibility of a political procession, the UPF has formally advised the organizers and urges them to heed this counsel.”

On behalf of the police chief, IGP Abbas Byakagaba, UPF director of operations Frank Mwesigwa claimed that police had credible “intelligence” reports that bad elements were plotting to hijack the march to parliament. Reading Mwesigwa’s statement and that of acting Kenya police chief, it appeared like both were reading from the same script – of intelligence reports and attempts to hijack protests. (See Details Here).

Two days after police claimed to have intelligence reports that bad elements were planning to hijack the protests, President Yoweri Museveni, the country’s leader for nearly four decades, addressed the nation, warning protestors not to be tempted to play with fire. (Read Story Here).

There have also been concerns that issues of the anti-homosexuality law were being smuggled into the anti-corruption march to parliament, with some online mobilizers popularizing calls for the repeal of the anti-gay act and respect for gay rights. (See related reporting Here).