Reports on the FDC Mobilization rallies in the Eastern Uganda today

Today the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) had planned to have rallies in Bugiri and Tororo. They would also head to Malaba if everything would go after plan. And prepare for the rallies tomorrow.

“We must recognise that us the politicians have been turned into fugitives in our own country and you the ordinary people refugees. We know it and so we must reclaim our dignity. To reclaim our dignity from the oppressor, we must defy him and not comply with the dictator.” – Dr. Kizza Besigye

A thing that the Party also did before travelling to the East they dropped off or filed a case at the High Court against the Electoral Commission and the Attorney General, where the Party is represented by the Senior Council Rwafuzi. The High Court will not hear or listen to the petition made the party on regards to the actions of the Police in the Western Uganda.

On the road to Bugiri the Police had again set up metal trenches or teeth to stop cars on the road. Like the Police trashed the cars on the road to Rukungiri on the 10^th of October. They had set it up at Nakalama this morning. It was good that the FDC convoy made it through today.

The FDC was to open their Mobilization office in Bugiri town at 11 AM and also meet the locals. Police was around in town, actually in big trucks and heavy weaponry. Supporters and friends of the party attending the opening the venue, but the police was also a part of the opening even though they was not invited. It was open with Dr. Kizza Besigye and Hon. Nandala Mafabi. Also at the venue was Hon. Wafula Ogutu who organized the journey.

At 3 PM the FDC continued in Tororo and had a massive rally in town. Where the FDC was planned to open the District Office today, the FDC had a convoy into town. Even Hon. Nandala Mafabi was walking in front together with the police in to town. The public really showed up some party members saying up that hundreds had showed up to lift up the event. It occurred at the Children’s Park. After what it seems and reports there has been a uplifting event and positivity not a town sieged by the Police, people harassed or tear-gassed. Congratulations to the UPF and the local DPC, also in general the Police for acting civilian in Tororo. About time! They we’re only allowed to be in town for an hour! They let them in after opening the roadblocks into town.

But not all police in the country was like this. On the road from Tororo to Malaba Dr. Kizza Besigye was stopped and wanted to pull him out of his car. The Police didn’t pull him out, because he didn’t comply too and the good thing that it didn’t happen. The Police had set up a road block as they had done in other roads today. The other was there was Hon. Nandala Mafabi, Wafula Ogutu, Godfrey Ekanya, Nasser Mudibole, Wanaha Kevinha and Sadiq Amin. So there was a lot of witnesses at the ground and at the road block.

On the road for more rallies and in Iganga where the local people wanted to show appreciation for the FDC Flag-bearer while driving through on the road to Kampala. The Police have actually thrown tear-gas into the public who was passing by and watching the FDC convey! This was about an hour ago!

So the Police actually had the ability to act a bit civilized today. This is the even if the police did block the towns that were already mentioned in the writings from the party and it’s the flag-bearer. So the public knew about the planned and times at the venues in both Bugiri and Tororo. They showed heart and stopped. Even took part of the Bugiri opening in the Mobilization office there. As they also stopped the convoy into the Tororo and Nandala Mafabi walked in-front of the convoy into town today together with the Police and the local public. There will be more security checkpoints from the Police in the next days. Hope that the incident in Iganga doesn’t become the norm as they have been in recent weeks and months. There been enough harassment and issues from the Police towards the opposition parties and even in the NRM primaries that isn’t looking good.  We can hope that the Police might have some sense and show the public the right to mobilize for somebody else the Mzee and his loyal cronies in the NRM. Peace!

Press Release: FDC mobilization goes to Eastern Uganda (12.10.2015)

A Weekend where the Police is creating havoc in Uganda and the FDC is the prey.

It’s been two days since the 53rd Independence Day in Uganda. Yesterday was a day of mayhem from the Police against the political party of FDC. They trashed the cars and sent people who were going to the event in Rukungiri. On the road in the Greater Masaka area DPC Maximal Ogwang even put metal trenches to stop the cars. The pictures from yesterday tell its tale. The FDC  people that had issues with the police and also got into trouble because of their travels was Hon. Godfrey Ekanya, Hon. Patrick Amuriat, Fred Turya, Dr. Kizza Besigye, Hon. Amuriat Semujju and Hon. Kevina Taaka.

In Rukungiri this led to arrests of unnamed people who were a part of the organization who was setting up the equipment for the event and arrangement. DPC Wotwali just followed ordered from up high.

The day before the NRM had issues in another district. This after the NRM-Regime got in trouble with vote rigging. “Supporters of Mr Benon Matsiko Kyampa, who was contesting for NRM flag for Ngarama LC3 top seat stormed the sub-county headquarters where they abandoned their party cards protesting poll results announced by the sub-county registrar, Mr Robert Baingana, in favour of Mr Silver Kiiza”. This led to even rubber bullets and agony in the district. So the way the police is used to quell issues is really a pattern. Which lead to this: “The deputy RDC Isingiro, Mr Damiano Turyatunga, said they will investigate why police fired bullets and will ensure calm is restored in the area” (Mugume, 2015).

But let me go back to the troubles of the FDC:

And he did this because of this:

Press Release and Letter from the IGP Kale Kayihura

Later on the day the FDC men got released from the prisons they we’re put in. The worst was seeing the pictures of Fatuma Zaina was put on a truck and undressed in a display from the police that isn’t justified anywhere in the world.

In Rukungiri the people who were supposed to attend even went to the Police station to get the people freed from custody. The reports I have has said that even the people was jailed where freed after the reactions from the people in the town.

In the same time as this happen to the opposition the President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni said this in Gulu:

“It is that if the country is going into election, some ‘people’ threaten violence, Uganda has long passed that kind of nonsense that portrays backwardness” (…)”I thought in elections you just talk and convince people, but in any case you want to cause violence, we also know how we shall deal with you because we shall not tolerate it” (Makumbi & Ocungi, 2015).

So the actions happening in the rest of the country towards the FDC is in his own words backwards. IGP Kale Kayihura has gone back in time and dropped the knowledge of oppressive behavior and misuse of the Public Order Management Act (POMA). That is because the President himself must fear the power of the FDC since he even gets the DPC to destroy the cars of they have.

To an extent yesterday the Danish Ambassador of Uganda had to go to the police and got Dr. Kizza Besigye and other FDC members out of prison. That tells the dire straits of the lawfulness. The Police of Uganda even drove him back to Kampala after the incidents on the road from Rukugiri. The same day after similar incident his own car was towed to Lyantonde. Where it surely still is sitting since the Police destroyed and trashed a few cars likes of Hon. Ekanya and Hon. Wafula.

Today this Sunday the 11^th October there been report that the once who got the FDC leaders out of prison in Lyantonde has themselves ended up in cells there. This people are FDC chairman in town Yusuf Matovu, Woman’s secretary of town Yudaya Naiga and Chairman of the Town-Council Richard Kayondo. The DPC in the area must be irritated man and need some love!

The brutality and sadness of reporting this! But somebody got to show the suspect behavior that continues into a brutality that is inhumane. The way they crashed the cars and undressed a certain FDC woman is insane!

Kizza-Besigye said”It’s very clear that the NRM and Museveni Police and Electoral Commission are intent on denying the opposition a chance fair chance to compete. This further underlines the fundamental importance of fighting for political reforms. It further shows why we must have a defiant campaign”.

I also will show back to something I even wrote a time back. Read this:

President Yoweri Kaguta Musveni Campaign of Fear

The must be a change from the Police and NRM-Regime. The way the FDC political leaders, men and woman of the political party treatment are dire and sadden. Nothing about the recent events is about justice and rule of law. IGP Kale Kayihura and his DPC have taken the levels of bullishness to another level.

What happen on the road and convoys of FDC personnel is just astonishing. The way the cars and upon cars with police in Rukungiri and the way they shut it down was insane. The warnings and arguments from the IGP is misuse of the POMA law. Amama Mbabazi must be sad the way he argued for the law a few years back.

Refering the POMA as this: “A short trip back in history will show that the POMA was designed in the heat of the Walk-to-Work (W2W) protests led by opposition leader Colonel Kizza Besigye. Besigye has thrice stood against President Museveni, with the latest controversial poll on 18 February 2011 being won by the incumbent. In a broad sense, the POMA can therefore be referred to as the ‘Anti-Besigye Act’ or the ‘ABA’, as it was clearly designed to tighten the grip of the Police and security forces in the wake of the protests which rocked the country in the aftermath of the election” (…)”Secondly, the ABA/POMA places an inordinate degree of discretionary power in the police, and specifically in the inspector general. This is obviously problematic because it makes the IGP prosecutor and judge in his own case, violating basic principles of natural justice. Thirdly, the law gives lower-ranking police officers the perfect excuse not to take action which supports human rights. Rather, they are encouraged to curtail them. Hence, the first words out of the mouths of officers charged with breaking up an opposition demonstration are: ‘I’m (simply) acting on orders from above’” (Oloka-Onyango, 2014).

POMA is used as the Anti-FDC law and give the token to Police to cross all levels of human dignity to against the opposition. The way this weekend has unfolded and the way the words has been said. Justice it’s not. Dignity isn’t something the NRM-Regime is showing to the world. The way and run up to the election will be violent. Not because the Opposition is gripping and being violent. It’s because the Ugandan Police Force is using rubber bullets, tear-gas and undressing woman in broad daylight. Also trashing cars and showing it’s true color. Museveni isn’t a man who can be proud of his loyal cronies. Since the actions are just dire and sad. The grips of power are now put into a state where the state is using the force and laws in ways that shouldn’t have occurred. This will light the fire of the opposition and give more energy to the struggle against the NRM-Regime. Not because the Opposition is always right. But because the NRM-Regime is so wrong and acting so insincere. There no justice in the vile attempt to secure peace.

The IGP Kale Kayihura and Yoweri Kaguta Museveni need a reality check. The recent events happen on their watch and the world is watching. People like me won’t accept that. Peace.

Reference:

Mugume, Chris – ‘Residents throw away NRM cards over vote rigging’ (09.10.2015) link: http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/Residents-throw-away-NRM-cards-over-vote-rigging/-/688334/2905272/-/pmw73q/-/index.html

Makumbi, Cissy & Ocungi, Julius – ‘No violence in 2016 election – Museveni’ (11.10.2015) link: http://www.monitor.co.ug/News/National/No-violence-in-2016-election—Museveni/-/688334/2907504/-/4chm5c/-/index.html

Oloka-Onyango – ‘Understanding the genesis and impact of recent legislation in Uganda’ (05.01.2014) link: http://www.pambazuka.net/en/category.php/features/91567/print

 

The UPF has trashed FDC cars and also blocked the planned FDC rally in Rukungiri

Police throws barricades at Hon. Ekanya’s car and these two cars ended up in a crush.

There is reports that the Local District Police Commissioner (DPC) Maximal Ogwang has done what he could in his district to stop a planned FDC rally in the area. He put thorns in the road. There been cars that was hit was the ones of Hon. Wafula Oguttu, Dr. Kizza Besigye, Hon. Ibrahim Nganda Ssemujju, Hon. Godfrey Ekanya, Hon. Patrick Amuriat and Fred Turya. Even a by-passer from a NTV and their car got also into issues because of this.

If that wasn’t enough there was even more reports that the police tried to stop the FDC men passing through Lyantonde. Hon Amuriat Semujju in Arested in police there. Hon. Kevina Taaka was also arrested on the road to the event. This was ordered from up high.

While this was happening in Rukungiri the organizers who was supposed to make ready for a rally was taken into custody by the police in the town. DPC Wotwali is surely a tool for the NRM-Regime and following orders from up high and that is IGP Kale Kayihura.

The DPC Ronald Wotwali in Rukungiri said this yesterday:

“The law regulating public gatherings is very clear. Before anyone can hold a rally, he must seek clearance from the Inspector General of Police. They FDC leaders are telling us they have written a letter seeking clearance and as the Police, we will only allow the rally to take place until we receive a written clearance from the Police headquarters” (Etukuri, 2015).

The reports also says the IGP Kale Kayihura disallowed it because the FDC didn’t follow the Public Order Management Act (POMA), though the FDC organizers say they did comply the information to the authorities as they asks for before a public rally. Though the IGP doesn’t seem to be enough, laws are fitting well for the NRM, but even if the FDC tries to follow them. They get into issues with the law because the Police go against any kind of gathering of the opposition which has been the common action before this Presidential Election of 2016. Peace.

Reference:

Etukuri, Charles – ‘FDC Rukungiri rally hangs in balance’ (09.10.2015) link: http://www.elections.co.ug/new-vision/election/1343215/fdc-rukungiri-rally-hangs-balance