According to an AFP journalist, Ugandan police detained several demonstrators in the capital Kampala on Tuesday as sporadic anti-corruption rallies began despite the authorities’ ban.
President Yoweri Museveni, who has controlled East Africa with an iron fist for nearly four decades, warned the marchers that they were “playing with fire” over the weekend.
On the eve of the demonstration, Ugandan authorities tightened down on the opposition, besieging former presidential contender Bobi Wine’s National Unity Platform (NUP) headquarters and arresting many MPs from his party.
Police were out in force around Kampala on Tuesday, with police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke stating that the authorities would “not allow a demonstration that would jeopardize the country’s peace and security.”
An AFP correspondent said that several protestors were arrested as tiny gatherings began, including two near parliament.
“Corruption has to end today,” one of them yelled, wearing a T-shirt calling for the resignation of a prominent government official, as they were apprehended by heavily armed officers.
Roadblocks were set up on relatively peaceful areas, particularly near Kampala’s business center, and were strongly guarded by police officers dressed in anti-riot gear, some wearing camouflage uniforms.
Posters distributed online prior to the protests encouraged people to march to parliament, but surrounding roads were closed by police officers.
The call to action against corruption has been organized online, drawing inspiration from the predominantly Gen-Z-led anti-government rallies that have roiled neighboring Kenya for the past month.
“We are the youths and heart of our country and we are not letting down our country,” leading Ugandan protester Shamim Nambasa told AFP on Monday.
‘All Belong’
A heavy police presence also remained in place around NUP headquarters in a suburb of Kampala, an AFP journalist said, a day after opposition leader Wine said the building was “under siege” by police and army officers.
On Monday three lawmakers with the opposition group were detained by police on “various offences and remanded to prison,” according to the police spokesperson who did not give further details on the charges.
Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, had called Monday for people to support the anti-corruption demonstrations.
“We want a country where we all belong not for the few in power,” he said.
A representative for the NUP said that three legislators, Francis Zaake, Charles Tebandeke, and Hassan Kirumira, as well as seven other party members, had been held.
Young Ugandans planned Tuesday’s march on social media under the hashtag #StopCorruption.
Graft is a big issue in Uganda, with several major scandals involving public officials, and the country ranks 141st out of 180 nations on Transparency International’s Corruption Index.
Earlier this year, the United States and Britain imposed sanctions on seven Ugandan officials, including parliamentary speaker Anita Among and two former ministers, for alleged corruption.