In defiance of an official ban, dozens of people have been detained in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, following scattered anti-corruption protests on Tuesday. Lawyers reported that around 60 individuals, including a prominent TV presenter and three young protest leaders, were quickly brought before courts and remanded in custody.
The protests, which were organized on social media, stemmed from long-standing allegations of corruption involving several high-profile public officials. President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda for nearly four decades, had warned protesters that they were “playing with fire” ahead of the event.
Despite police refusals to grant permission for the march, and assurances to prevent any demonstration threatening Uganda’s “peace and security,” protesters marched on the country’s parliament. Riot officers manned roadblocks, and security forces sealed off roads around the parliament building. Demonstrators held signs reading “Stop corruption” and calling the parliament a “den of thieves,” while others asserted their peaceful intentions.
Among those detained were well-known television and radio presenter Faiza Salima, and protest organizers George Victor Otieno, Kennedy Ndyamuhaki, and Aloikin Praise Opoloje. Bernard Oundo, president of the Uganda Law Society, criticized the hasty trials, stating, “They were arrested and taken to court in a very short time and remanded to prison without securing them bail. We will ensure these people receive justice.”
On the eve of the march, Uganda’s main opposition leader, Bobi Wine, reported that security forces had besieged the Kampala headquarters of his National Unity Platform party, violently arresting some officials and turning the offices into a “military barracks.”
