KAMPALA | Makerere-Kavule was like a barracks on payday this Monday morning as heavily armed security poured into the city suburb to foil a scheduled news briefing at the opposition National Unity Platform headquarters in Kampala.
NUP vice-president Lina Zedriga arrived in Makerere-Kavule in a striking red suit but her flamboyant march to the party offices was cut short when police stopped her.
After a brief exchange, police officers led Ms Zedriga into a waiting suspects van but she refused to board.
An ensuing melee followed as a gang of security personnel descended on her and forcibly pushed her into the van.
Mityana Municipality MP Francis Zaake had no luck either as he arrived in a slick saloon car and found spiked barricades at the entrance.
The legislator refused to yield and said he had no fuel to drive off. Police wasted no time in bringing a tow truck and Zaake, still behind the wheels, was lifted onto the carriage.
Police said it had acquired intelligence that NUP had called on MPs and councillors to attend a press conference.
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke said there was no problem with the call.
"However, the party also called upon all pressure grounds and all supporters in the country to come and attend the same press conference at Kavule," he said.
"If you are going to call all supporters of NUP in a small and crowded plot of land, we certainly have to heighten measures and taken note of concerns of the rights of others.”
Security has been upbeat over a planned youth anti-corruption march in Kampala and have vowed to crush it.
Boots and batons have have poured onto the capital since the weekend and further heightened after President Museveni, in a national address, warned that there would be no tolerance for any anti-corruption march.
But the youth and opposition parties say fighting corruption is the responsibility of every citizen. They also cite the messages from leaders such as Internal Affairs minister Kahinda Otafiire who called on the youth to tell off corrupt leaders.
Rusoke said the longer the organisers fail to recognise the rights of others, the longer it will take themto enjoy their own.
"You need to balance the equation and understand that you don’t have absolute rights, you need to factor in other people , interests and coordinates with security regime on ground,” he said.
The protest come on the back of allegations and revelations of gross corruption by Parliament that is reeling from having up to three MPs on remand over corruption-related offences.
