Dozens of individuals who participated in dispersed anti-corruption protests in Kampala on Tuesday, despite an official prohibition, have been charged and detained, according to their lawyers. Approximately 60 people, including a prominent TV and radio presenter and three young protest leaders, were swiftly brought before the courts and remanded in custody on charges including being a “common nuisance.”
President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda with a firm grip for nearly four decades, had warned over the weekend that the demonstrators were “playing with fire.” Riot police were heavily deployed across Kampala, setting up roadblocks particularly near the business district, and officers sealed off roads leading to parliament.
Police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke stated that the authorities would not permit any demonstration that endangered Uganda’s “peace and security.” The call for action against corruption was organized by young Ugandans online, featuring vibrant posters encouraging people to march on parliament. They drew inspiration from the largely Gen-Z-led anti-government protests in neighboring Kenya.
Corruption is a significant issue in Uganda, with numerous high-profile scandals involving public officials. The country is ranked 141 out of 180 countries on Transparency International’s corruption index.
“We are tired of corruption,” protester Samson Kiriya shouted from between the bars of a police van as he was arrested.
in separate hearings, their lawyers said.
They included well-known television and radio presenter Faiza Salima as well as a social media influencer and a doctor, lawyer Ashraf Kwezi told AFP.
“The three were charged with a flimsy offence of being a common nuisance… and disorderly after they participated in the protest today but they denied the charges,” he said.
Three protest organizers, identified as George Victor Otieno, Kennedy Ndyamuhaki, and Aloikin Praise Opoloje, were arrested while marching to parliament and have also been charged. Bernard Oundo, president of the Uganda Law Society, informed AFP that 50 individuals were charged during a single hearing in a Kampala court and are scheduled to reappear between July 30 and August 8. Additionally, another five people were charged in a separate hearing at a different court, according to their lawyer Patience Muwanguzi.
“This was a rushed trial. They were arrested, taken to court in a very short time, and remanded to prison without securing bail,” Muwanguzi told AFP. “We will ensure these people receive justice.”
Human Rights Watch Uganda researcher Oryem Nyeko condemned the numerous arrests, stating they were “a reflection of where Uganda is at the moment as far as respect for those rights is concerned.
” On the eve of the rally, Ugandan authorities had besieged the headquarters of the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP), led by former presidential candidate Bobi Wine, and arrested three of his party’s MPs.
A heavy police presence remained around the NUP offices in a Kampala suburb on Tuesday, an AFP journalist reported. “Salutations to all who have courageously marched and are still marching against corruption and misrule—even in the face of very brutal actions by the military and police!” Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, posted on X.
Ugandan authorities have frequently cracked down on the NUP and Wine, a pop star turned politician who unsuccessfully challenged President Museveni in the 2021 elections.
Corruption is endemic in Uganda, where several high-profile figures have recently come under scrutiny in graft scandals. Earlier this year, the United States and Britain imposed sanctions on several Ugandan officials, including parliament speaker Anita Among and three former or current ministers, for alleged involvement in corruption.
The ministers are on trial, accused of stealing iron sheets meant for the poor under a government-funded project and redirecting them to politicians and their families.
However, no charges have been laid against the speaker. Four legislators from Uganda’s ruling party and two senior civil servants are also in custody for allegedly embezzling large sums of money intended to compensate farmers who lost property during the 1980s bush war that brought President Museveni to power.
“We are not relenting until we have the corrupt out of office,” protester and human rights lawyer Ezra Rwashande told AFP during the rallies.
