Uganda’s security agencies were kept busy on Monday as they deployed at the country’s leading university, clashed with journalists and arrested veteran opposition leader, Kizza Besigye.
Kizza Besigye’s brutal arrest
Pictures and videos of former presidential candidate Besigye being thrust from his car by water canons evoked harsh reactions from Ugandans, who condemned the use of violence by the country’s police.
Local journalists say Besigye was on his way to the national stadium to address a gathering of supporters from the biggest opposition party, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).
Police later issued statement confirming Besigye’s arrest, saying he had defied orders to change the venue of the party meeting and also inconvenienced road users when he parked his car in the middle of the road.
‘‘At the moment no charges have been preferred against him but investigators are still gathering evidence,” Kampala Metropolitan police spokesperson Mr Patrick Onyango said.
Clashes with journalists
Police also arrested a number of journalists, who on Monday organised a march protesting unfair treatment of members of the press by the country’s security agencies.
The members of Uganda Journalists Association (UJA) were intercepted on their way to the police headquarters where they intended to deliver a petition asking the police leadership to stop brutalising journalists deployed to cover riots and demonstrations.
UJA says several journalists were hospitalised after they sustained injuries covering protests at Makerere University.
Onyango at the time explained that the injured journalists were caught up in the violence, after they distanced themselves from riot police.
Photo Credit: FDC Twitter account
Source:Africanews.com