The National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine has said that “dictators will only respect the rule of law if they are put under pressure over their misdeeds.”
Kyagulanyi made the remarks after he was arrested while leading a team of NUP elected members of parliament in a peaceful protest at the Constitutional Square in Kampala.
Kyagulanyi was protesting over the missing Ugandans who were arrested during the last general election.
Since Kyagulanyi called for peaceful demonstrations in protests against President Museveni’s victory in the January 14 polls, security agencies have conducted a number of operations to ensure no one heeds his call.
Disruption of any groups that might heed Kyagulanyi’s call has been key in the security agencies strategies and the joint security team has been combing city suburbs, carrying out random arrests of people who converge in very small groups, especially those suspected to be Kyagulanyi’s supporters, in the community to discuss politics.
Police said whereas no one can be stopped from holding a peaceful protest, Kyagulanyi and his team ought to work out a plan with police to avoid any eventualities.
“It is not only announcing (peaceful protests) but work with police to give them your plan to ensure the peaceful assembly is not taken advantage of,” Fred Enanga, the police spokesperson told the media yesterday.
Kyagulanyi has insisted that protesting peacefully is not a crime and there is no reason to inform the police because what they are doing is provided in the Constitution.
“Gen. Museveni must bring back our people dead or alive. The right to protest is embedded within our Constitution. A Ugandan who participates in a peaceful demonstration commits no offence,”he noted.
“Even if the police brutally arrested them, we are sure that ultimately they will be free because they broke no law and therefore committed no crime. Dictators like Museveni will only respect the law if they are put under pressure,”he said.
He encouraged Ugandans to continue protesting peacefully against all the injustice but most importantly to demand justice for those who are continuously being abducted and tortured or even murdered in detention.
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