UGANDA’S President Yoweri Museveni issued a stern warning to protesters planning an anti-corruption march to parliament on Tuesday, cautioning them that they will be ‘playing with fire.’
Young Ugandans have been organising the march through social media, demanding an end to government corruption. Inspired by the recent protests in neighbouring Kenya, which pressured President William Ruto to abandon plans for increased taxes, Ugandan youth are rallying for similar change. In Kenya, the protests have evolved into calls for Ruto’s resignation.
In a televised address, Museveni made it clear that the planned protest would not be tolerated. ‘We are busy producing wealth… and you here want to disturb us. You are playing with fire because we cannot allow you to disturb us,’ he declared.
Critics have long accused Museveni of ruling Uganda with an iron fist since he came to power in 1986. His supporters, however, praise him for maintaining stability in the East African state.
Museveni also accused some protest organisers of ‘always working with foreigners’ to create chaos in Uganda, though he did not provide further details.
Earlier, the police announced they had refused to grant permission for the march to take place when parliament opens on Tuesday. Despite this, one of the main protest leaders insisted they would proceed.
‘We don’t need police permission to carry out a peaceful demonstration. It is our constitutional right,’ Louez Aloikin Opolose told AFP news agency.
This situation comes in the wake of sanctions imposed by the UK and US governments on Uganda’s parliamentary speaker, Anita Annet Among, earlier this year due to allegations of corruption. Among has denied any wrongdoing. The sanctions prevent her from travelling to the UK and the US, and the UK also imposed an asset freeze on her.
Similar sanctions have been placed on two former government ministers, Mary Goretti Kitutu and Agnes Nandutu, who were sacked by Museveni and charged in court over a scandal involving the theft of thousands of metal roofing sheets intended for vulnerable communities in the north-eastern Karamoja region. Both have denied the charges.
The growing tension highlights the challenges facing Uganda as citizens push for greater transparency and accountability in their government.
