[UAH] Otafiire blasts police on Besigye, Lukwago arrests
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10:19 PM |
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Justice minister, Kahinda Otafiire
The minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs, Maj General Kahinda Otafiire, has sharply criticised the strong arm tactics police are using lately to handle two key opposition leaders, Dr Kizza Besigye and Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago.
"I really wonder why the police is hell bent on making the lives of these two (Besigye and Lukwago) difficult. Why don't they let them walk?" Otafiire said in a recent interview with The Observer.
This was shortly after the outspoken minister made similar remarks while appearing on a political programme on CBS radio called "Palamenti Yaffe" or "Our Parliament".
The Ruhinda County MP told The Observer that by curtailing the movements of Besigye and Lukwago, police were not only infringing on their rights but also suffocating the rights of the people who elected the lord mayor.
Police recently barred Besigye and Lukwago from accessing certain parts of the city and have been on their trail ever since. The police accuse the two politicians of seeking to cause chaos in the city. To prevent such a scenario, police officers have resorted to 'preventive arrest' tactics, whereby Besigye and Lukwago are either barred from leaving their homes or escorted wherever they go.
Otafiire told The Observer that such methods are "rightly bad."
"You really look at the way they are doing their things and you are left in shock. Why do you arrest a leader in such a (forceful) manner yet he has done nothing illegal?" Otafiire said.
On June 22, Lukwago was roughed up and his shirt torn during an encounter with the police. He suffered breathing complications after a tear gas canister was hurled into his car in Mengo and was briefly hospitalised.
At least one person died in the chaos as police broke up a gathering of Lukwago's supporters who had been escorting the mayor to a tribunal investigating him for abuse of office, incompetence and failure to convene council meetings.
At Besigye's home in Kasangati, and at the home of Lukwago, there are dozens of policemen and women keeping close watch on the two politicians. On Sunday, Besigye and Lukwago travelled to Kabale where the lord mayor, Kawempe Division Mayor Mubarak Munyagwa and Ingrid Turinawe, FDC Women's League chairperson, were to appear before the Kabale Chief Magistrate Amos Kwizera to answer charges of inciting violence committed on July 14, 2012.
As the two set off from Kampala, a police van and truck trailed them all the way to Masaka, where three other vehicles joined the convoy. The convoy grew even longer as Besigye and Lukwago entered Mbarara, and by the time they reached Kabale, about 10 security cars were on their trail.
Otafiire, who said he has watched the police versus opposition leaders' skirmishes in Kampala closely, wondered why the police had to escort Lukwago [to the tribunal on June 22].
"You need to ask the police why it's behaving that way against Lukwago and his associates," Otafiire told The Observer.
He advised Besigye and Lukwago to challenge the police's actions in court. Kampala Metropolitan police boss, Andrew Felix Kaweesi, said last week that his men are restricting Lukwago's movements because they have intelligence information linking him to acts of violence in the city.
Egypt factor
On the other hand, sources have told us that the police believe Besigye is looking for the slightest opportunity to rally Ugandans into an Egypt-style revolution. If not checked, security gurus in government believe Besigye and Lukwago are capable of galvanising various discontented groups into a major regime-change protest.
Besigye is aware of the government's fears and indeed one of his aides, Francis Mwijukye, claimed in a recent interview that the government is scared of people.
"They see Besigye as someone who will mobilise people. He is not a security threat to people, but a threat to government," Mwijukye pointed out.
"They want to contain Besigye because they fear the Egypt scenario. The thinking is that Besigye would gather people at the Constitution Square," he added.
Last week, traders united under their Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA) platform went on strike, protesting the pre-shipment inspection fees. The strike made the state uncomfortable as it offered Besigye and his allies the kind of opportunity they need to instigate a wider civil rebellion.
With teachers threatening to go on strike in September, and possibly lecturers of public universities in August, which could drag in students, government's security agents will remain on their toes for months to come.
According to Mwijukye, the opposition is determined to tap into these groups.
"It is going to get worse, government will get more scared. There's fear within government. The problem is political, which we must sort out; we are not going to relent," he said, adding, "Government must know that they are dealing with people who are determined. We shall assemble at whatever cost."
Expressing frustration at the 24/7 surveillance he has been subjected to for weeks now, Besigye recently said, "It is shameful for police. How can one person be surrounded by all these police trucks? This shows that this regime is going."
However, government isn't intimidated, at least according to Ofwono-Opondo, executive director of the Uganda Media Centre.Ofwono-Opondo said the Egyptian scenario cannot immediately apply in Uganda.
"The events that necessitate the Egypt scenario are not yet ripe in Uganda," he said.
Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi was last week ousted by the military following countrywide protests against his regime.
dtlumu@observer.ug
dkiyonga@gmail.com
Additional reporting by Alex Nsubuga.
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Comments
How encouraging to see a Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs abhor the maltreatment by police of two Ugandan prominent citizens. It seems all is not lost in our country after all.
It would be nice if our useless members of parliament followed suit and condemn police brutality instead of sitting in the parliament like cabbages only waiting for the end of each month to get their salaries .. shame on you, Uganda members of parliament of all parties.