{UAH} 'Baby Ryan' buried in Kampala after Uganda uproar

'Baby Ryan' buried in Kampala after Uganda uproar

Kampala council is trying to reduce the number of street vendors in the city

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The funeral has been held in Uganda of a boy of two, whose death sparked an uproar because he was run over by a council vehicle after his mother was arrested for selling fruit illegally.

The family of Ryan Ssemaganda and opposition politicians had threatened not to bury him until officials had taken responsibility for his death.

His body was taken to parliament on Thursday in protest.

Many Ugandans feel Kampala council is too tough with street vendors.

The BBC's Catherine Byaruhanga in the capital says this is why the tragic case of 'Baby Ryan', as he has become known, has struck a chord with the public.

His mother was arrested on Monday for selling fruit on the street without a licence.

The following day, his grandmother took him to the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) offices, where the mother had been detained, so she could breastfeed him.

The KCCA officials reportedly refused, but while the discussions were going on, he wandered away from his grandmother and was run over by a KCCA vehicle.

Opposition politician Erias Lukwago had wanted the burial to be delayed

The police on Thursday prevented the boy's body from being taken to parliament.

"We don't want a dead body in parliament. Go and bury him, don't disturb the peace of the dead," said regional police commander James Ruhweza, according to the Monitor newspaper.

He also urged the family not to let politicians take advantage of the situation.

Opposition politician Erias Lukwago visited the family before they took the boy's body to parliament, the Monitor reports.

Mr Lukwago was last year impeached as Kampala mayor - a move he is challenging in courts, saying it was politically motivated.

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Gwokto La'Kitgum

"Even a small dog can piss on a tall Building", Jim Hightower

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