Bobi Wine begs EC to sit and discuss with the police over his consultative meetings
Kyadondo East Legislator Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine has written to the Electoral Commission (EC) demanding for an explanation as to why the police keep denying him a chance to hold consultative meetings.
On Monday, 24, police were heavily deployed at Pope Paul Memorial Hotel in Ndeeba from where the People Power initiator was scheduled to hold his consultative meeting ahead of the upcoming 2021general elections.
In response to a question of why they gazetted the Hotel premises, the police implied that the legislator’s meeting was illegal and not on the plan.
Police implied that Kyagulanyi held a meeting with the Electoral Commission (EC) earlier on in which the former proposed a 10 point strategy to be followed before being permitted to consult his supporters but he did not accomplish that.
Police also said that on January 31 and February 18, 2020, the director operations also wrote to Bobi Wine reminding him to submit these proposals but they got no response.
Following the cancellation another of his planned meetings in addition to the three that were called off earlier in the year, Bobi Wine in a letter dated February 21 has written to the EC indicating the 10 issues he wants police to address before he resumes the meetings.
In the letter, the legislator requests the EC to convene a meeting with the police as soon as possible to enable him to organize fresh meetings with his supporters.
“The purpose of this letter is to also request you to convene a meeting with the Uganda Police Force as soon as possible, (preferably between February 24 and February 28)so that our consultations can go on without hindrance,” the letter to the EC chairperson, Justice Simon Byabak
Tweet
Besides, Bobi Wine said he wants police to acknowledge receipt of his letters when they get them, respond to his notices for any consultative meeting, be allowed in some cases to hold consultations in an open place, but without holding processions.
Kyagulanyi also said that police should not ask for unreasonable requirements which cannot be accessed by private citizens and allow him to take interviews from the media as well as distribute questionnaires.
Meanwhile, he also requested to be allowed to hold consultations up to 7 pm as it is in the Public Order Management Act (POMA) not 5 pm as police have always demanded.
Appropriately, he called on the EC to compromise with him despite being a political opponent.
By John Dalton Kigozi
