Members of Parliament attending a closed door meeting with President Yoweri Museveni on security matters have been instructed to leave their communication gadgets including mobile phones at the door.
There are heavy security measures in place to ensure that details from President Museveni’s interface with MPs on the security situation in the country do not leak. The meeting is being held at the Office of the Prime Minister’s building.
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As a result of the strict security instructions, MPs have been seen picking notebooks before they proceed to the meeting. Other MPs have asked their personal assistants to carry their phones back to their offices.
Clerks to Parliament and other staff have been barred from attending the meeting. The meeting has been reserved only for MPs and the President and his security advisors.
Several opposition MPs have, however, vowed not to attend the meeting with President Museveni. The decision was communicated by Leader of Opposition Winnie Kiiza, Kalungu County West MP Joseph Ssewungu, Makindye Division West Allan Ssewanyana, and Nakaseke County South Lutamaguzi Semakula.
Opposition politicians Kawempe North MP Latif Ssebagala, Bukedea Woman MP Anite Among, and Kilak County MP Anthony Akol are attending the meeting nonetheless.
A few MPs who preferred to speak anonymously have said they will ask President Museveni to clarify why the former Inspector General of Police General Kale Kayihura has been in detention for two weeks. Kayihura is currently held at Makindye barracks by the army. He has not appeared in court.
The meeting comes on the heels of President Museveni’s address to parliament on June 20, 2018 about the security situation of the country. Members of parliament requested for the meeting with the president to share their concerns about what they perceive to be Uganda’s deteriorating security.
MPs and civil society organisations have raised concern over a number of murders and kidnaps that have dominated the country since 2017 into the New Year. Many of the murders remain unsolved to this day.
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