Butaleja District: Police fires bullets and teargas to intercept FDC supporters’ constitutional rights meeting
Bullets and teargas stormed Butaleja District on Sunday 27, October 2019, as police tried to scatter Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) supporters who had gathered at Namuswa Gardens Hotel in Nabiganda Town Council, to attend the Butaleja District leaders’ summit.
Peter Mwangale, the Butaleja District FDC Party mobiliser, said that they notified Police about the sensitization meeting they organised, aimed at creating awareness to their supporters about their constitutional rights, and police issued them a clearance letter.
However, despite the clearance form, Police went ahead and intercepted the meeting. But FDC leaders insisted on holding the meeting, which in turn forced Police to fire bullets and teargas to the gathering to disperse supporters.
“We got the permission from the IGP, and I gave a copy to the District Police Commander and area OC Station Nabiganda, but to our surprise, the officers went ahead to block our meeting without any reason,” Mwangale said.
Tweet
Amidst the scuffle between Police and FDC supporters, that lasted for about five hours, business in the area paralysed as shop owners went into fear of losing their goods and closed their shops.
Ceasar Tusingwire, the Bukedi regional Police Commander stated that the organisers of the event failed to present proof, that they thought permission from the venue owners, despite having Inspector General of Police’s (IGP) clearance letter.
In his further remarks, Tusingwire said that the meeting was meant to take place in a Hall, but instead, they chose to hold it in an open ground which was hard for them to provide security. So, that’s why they had to call off their meeting.
“The meeting was supposed to take place in the hall, but not in an open place. If it was in a hall, we could have allowed their meeting to go ahead, because we don’t have any problem with them. But we couldn’t secure the open place. Let them get a hall, and we shall allow them,” Tusingwire noted.
Tweet
Relatedly, the former FDC President, the four-time Presidential contestant and the leader People’s Government, Rt Col. Dr Kizza Besigye in a media briefing disclosed that they are organising a national convention aimed at dispersing their ideas to other change advocates particularly to draft a joint plan of action, against the ruling government.
Among the new ideas includes “Twerwaneko Campaign” meaning let’s defend ourselves, comes after “Tubalemese Campaign” meaning let’s fail them, launched earlier by Dr Besigye.
Dr Besigye branded the “Twerwaneko Campaign” as Article Three Twerwaneko. Which is derived from Article 3 of the Constitution, which empowers Ugandans to fight and defend the Constitution of Uganda.
Article 3 of the Constitution of Uganda, also empowers citizens to ensure that the Constitution is restored in case of suspension, overthrow, illegal amendments of any kind.
Dr Besigye and his allies insist that President Museveni has breached the Constitution in a numbery of ways that includes blocking Dr Besigye from proving his presidential win, in 2016 election.
Besigye says he won the election by 52 per cent, but he was subjected to house arrest until the whole process was completed. According to Dr Besigye, President Museveni is a junta who’s occupying the presidential illegally.
This was the reason why Dr Besigye established the People’s Government after the 2016 election. He wanted to inform the world, that President Museveni is illegally occupying the Presidential helm.
Besigye adds that if Ugandan doesn’t fight to defeat President Museveni and throw him out of office, Ugandans will be replaced by “new people”, who according to Besigye are already in the country “taking over our land” and others are still jetting in.
Besigye says this is an existential threat and could get swept away as it happened to Aborigines who once claimed Australia and New Zealand to be their land and the Red Indians who were the North America nationals.
