The Ministry of Defence has rejected a request by the main opposition party, National Unity Platform (NUP), to hold its fourth anniversary celebrations from Kololo Ceremonial Grounds.
Founded on July 22, 2020, NUP is set to hold its fourth anniversary next week.
On July 9, NUP general-secretary, Lewis Rubongoya had written to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and veterans, Sam Kallu, seeking permission to use Kololo for the anniversary celebrations.
"We accordingly request to hold this event at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds, given its historical significance as well as the anticipated number of people at the event," Rubongoya wrote in his later.
According to Rubongoya, they plan to hold their anniversary celebrations from 9am and close at 6pm.
However, in a letter dated July 16, PS Kallu has informed NUP that the grounds will not be available for the event.
Kallu said the grounds are undergoing infrastructural rehabilitations and thus unavailable for events, further advising NUP to find alternative venue.
"However, due to the ongoing infrastructural development at the Kololo Ceremonial Grounds, we regret to inform you that the grounds will not be available for your event," Kallu said in his letter.
Following the decision, NUP spokesperson, Joel Ssenyonyi has accused the Defence ministry of double-standards, wondering why the venue is always free for various events but not for NUP.
"Kololo Ceremonial Grounds is always used for various events including recently, but when NUP asked to use the same venue for our 4th anniversary on Monday 22nd July, they are talking about ongoing infrastructural works at the place," Ssenyonyi said on X.
According to NUP, their anniversary celebrations will be under the theme, "Four Years of NUP: The Milestones Reached, the Obstacles Encountered and a Glance into the Future".
