By Jumah Kakomo
The opposition national unity platform (NUP) has vowed to disobey police directive of banning its national mobilization tours saying the directive is illegal and lawful because the police have no moral authority to issue such a directive.
Police issued on Wednesday issued a directive banning the ongoing mobilization tours by National Unity Platform president, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu and its members on the ground that the mobilization tours and rallies are done in open spaces which are difficult to manage, adding that currently, the National Unity Platform uses poorly trained people to act as guards which put the lives of their supporters and well-wishers at stake.
Before the directive earlier on Monday, the police had already warned that Kyagulanyi’s rallies were vulnerable to attacks by terrorists who might take advantage of the loopholes therein. In a statement issued by the deputy Inspector General of Police, Maj Gen Geoffrey Katsigazi Tumusiime indicated that Kyagulanyi and his NUP supporters have disregarded a number of guidelines provided to them by police and that the mobilization tours by Kyagulanyi have caused chaos in the various parts of the country they have been so far held.
“In all areas where the NUP mobilization activities have been carried out, there have been total breaches to the guidelines,” Katsigazi added.
Bobi Wine has so far held mobilization tours in Western Uganda, Bunyoro sub-region, Tooro sub-region and Luweero in central Uganda among other areas.
Addressing the media at party headquarters Kamwokya Kampala, the party president Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu noted they will soon resume their program very soon because there the order or directive is illegal and emotional
“We just notified the police about our program, we didn’t ask them permission because there is no law that requires us to seek permission from the police,”Kyagulanyi said.
Kyagulanyi is soon leaving the country to Canada to attend a certain convention where he will spend two weeks. He says they have been conducting their program peacefully and Katsigazi doesn’t have powers to ban any political party activities.
“You have seen several times President Museveni, his Son Muhoozi and other government officials blocking roads with impunity, why is it that when it comes to opposition, police immediately observe that we block roads,” Kyagulanyi said.
He further urged the police to remain acting in the way they have been behaving to avoid any violations. He says whoever feels that whatever they are doing is wrong to go to court because police is not a court itself.
Kyagulanyi further wondered why when they announced their national wide tour, the acts of terrorism commenced which he said was totally intended to ban this program.
“As soon as we announced our nationwide mobilization tours, acts of terrorism commenced and finally saw what had come out,”Kyagulanyi added.
Regarding tribalism and sectarianism statements, Kyagulanyi says they have been preaching the same message where they have been heading to according to the problems of those areas respectively.
“We have been preaching the same message, but when we come to (Luweero) Buganda they brought in the concepts of Tribalism and sectarianism. Why, Museveni is a master of both these concepts and his regime” Kyagulanyi said.
NUP’s legislators of Kyadondo East Muwada Nkunyingi and Shamim Malende of Kampala district both diluted the directive of police saying it is intended to block their mission, but they are to continue with their program.
“NRM has been also conducting such programs when the police are noiseless, but to opposition they have now come out; we shall not panic’ ” Muwadda said.
