The National Unity Platform president had indicated that his party was to deliver a petition to the Chief of Defense Forces-CDF, Gen. David Muhoozi to demand the release of his supporters who were illegally detained. Immediately after the press conference that took place at his offices in Kamwokya, the army and the police surrounded the premises checking every car that left the building.
Former presidential candidate Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu has been forcefully driven to his home in Magere by a joint security team
of the army and the police.
The National Unity Platform president had indicated
that his party was to deliver a petition to the Chief of Defense Forces-CDF, Gen.
David Muhoozi to demand the release of his supporters who were
illegally detained. Immediately after the press conference that
took place at his offices in Kamwokya, the army and the police surrounded the
premises checking every car that left the building.
After about an hour,
Kyagulanyi who was being driven by NUP Secretary-General, David Lewis Rubongoya,
was forcefully dragged out of the car and put into a police truck that sped off
at breakneck speed towards his home in Magere.
Speaking to reporters before
they drove out of the premises, Rubongoya said Kyagulanyi had no intentions of
personally taking the petition to the CDF. He said other party leaders led by
Dr Lina Zedriga, the NUP vice president for Northern Uganda would deliver the petition.
//Cue in… it's very unfortunate
Cue out…be at Mbuya,”//
During the press conference, Kyagulanyi said it was
within his right to go to the army headquarters to see the CDF and the minister
of Defense Adolf Mwesige even without an appointment because they occupy public
offices which must be open to serve everyone who goes there.
This is not the first office that Kyagulanyi has gone to try and have his more than 400 supporters
arrested from different parts of the country released. Last week Kyagulanyi presented
a statement to parliament calling for the unconditional release of his
supporters while last month he petitioned the United Nations High Commission
for Human Rights to intervene in the matter.
By press time, the team that had gone to Mbuya to
deliver the petition had yet to be allowed access to the CDF.
Meanwhile, Kyagulanyi has also called upon the government
to lift the nighttime curfew which runs from 9 pm-5:30 am, arguing that there is no causation between the
spread of COVID-19 and the crippling curfew.
The curfew was declared in the country last year as a means
to stop the spread of COVID-19. Initially, it was starting at 7 pm-6 a.m. but was
later revised as the government started relaxing the lockdown. However, when almost
all restrictions were lifted, curfew remained intact, according to President
Museveni, to limit night interactions.
Speaking to reporters at his offices,
Kyagulanyi said all that the curfew does is cripple people economically. He
said if the government doesn’t do away with the curfew, they will have no option
but to call upon people to demonstrate against it; as according to him, it’s
the only language that the government understands.
Cue in…. that Gen Museveni
Cue out…Covid-19, whatsoever,”//
Kyagulanyi also used his address today to dispute
claims by the president over the weekend that NUP cheated during the January 14
general election. On the contrary, Kyagulanyi said, it was the government with
support from security organizations and the electoral commission that engaged
in election malpractices.
He challenged Museveni to agree to a rerun as he also believes
that the election was neither free nor fair.
