Police in Mbale district is engaged in running battles with youth who are protesting the denial of city status to the district once named with the cleanest town.
Police was forced to fire tear gas and disperse the youth who were carrying placards displaying different messages and chanting; “we want a city’.
The youth marching on the streets were also singing; “We want a city like we want money”. They were however intercepted by police officers led by District Police Commander, Mathias Turyasingura, arresting several of them.
The youth on arrest continued chanting “we want a city’, while flashing both NRM and People Power signs.
Early this week, cabinet approved the creation of nine cities, five of which would become effective by July 1.
The cities included; Arua, Gulu, Jinja, Fortportal and Mbarara which would get an elevation from municipal status to city status while Mbale in particular was pushed for elevation in 2021.
A budget of Shs 130 billion was set aside for the operations of the cities after meeting all the requirements. In February, a technical team led by the commissioner of urban administration from the ministry of Local Government, Justinian Niwagaba on a mission in Fort Portal noted that all regional cities will have two divisions.