The suspects were arrested from different highway points in Jinja city and are said to have been part of the bigger group of youths who on Monday engaged in running battles with security personnel.
![]()
Some of the suspects at Jinja high court.
The Jinja Chief
Magistrate, Jude Okumu, on Tuesday, remanded 67 youths accused of involving
themselves in protests along the different major highways within the Busoga sub-region.
The suspects were arrested from different highway points in Jinja city and are
said to have been part of the bigger group of youths who on Monday engaged in
running battles with security personnel. The youths held protests over the
increasing commodity prices, citing what they called the government’s
failure to provide short-term solutions to address the situation.
They placed logs and lit tyres in the different trading centres along both the
Jinja-Kamuli and Jinja-Iganga highways, blocking traffic throughout the day.
The youths further attacked motorcyclists, passengers, and drivers alike, whom
they accused of declining to join their protest and forcefully bypassing the
stationed roadblocks.
They were
arrested and charged with illegal assembly and inciting violence. Okumu remanded
the suspects to Kirinya Prisons until August 9.
Police
accused the suspects of engaging in unlawful activities like robbery, illegal
blockage of traffic, taking part in unlawful assembly, malicious damage, and
economic sabotage, which largely interrupted the smooth operation of other
activities in the city and surrounding areas.
