Ugandan police arrest dozens in anti-corruption protests | Protest news

At least 45 people have been arrested in Kampala, according to Chapter Four Uganda, a human rights group.

Police have detained dozens of people as they took part in banned anti-corruption protests in Uganda’s capital Kampala, a human rights group said.

Police and military were heavily deployed in several parts of Kampala where small groups of protesters had gathered on Tuesday.

The protesters waved signs and chanted slogans denouncing corruption. One of them wore a T-shirt with the slogan “The president must resign.”

At least 45 people were detained by security personnel during the crackdown, according to Chapter Four Uganda, a human rights group that provides legal services to detainees.

Police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke said authorities “will not allow a demonstration that endangers the peace and security of the country.”

Over the weekend, President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the East African country for nearly four decades, warned that protesters were “playing with fire.”

Several government MPs are facing corruption charges, and protesters are calling for the resignation of Parliament Speaker Anita Among after she was implicated in a bribery scandal and sanctioned by the UK in June.

Tuesday’s march was organised on social media under the hashtag #StopCorruption by young Ugandans – some 15 million of a population of 45 million are under 35, according to the latest census data.

“We are tired of corruption,” protester Samson Kiriya shouted from behind the bars of a police van as he was arrested on Tuesday.

“Kampala is the capital of potholes. This is because of corruption,” he told AFP.

At least five of those arrested have been charged and remanded in custody until July 30. They have also been accused of being a “common nuisance” and being “idle and disorderly,” according to a charge sheet seen by Reuters.

Oryem Nyeko, a researcher at Human Rights Watch Uganda, condemned the arrests, saying they were “a reflection of the current state of affairs in Uganda regarding respect for these rights.”

Opposition leaders and human rights activists have accused Museveni of failing to prosecute corrupt senior officials who are politically loyal or connected to him.

Museveni has repeatedly denied tolerating corruption and says that whenever there is sufficient evidence, culprits, including lawmakers and ministers, are prosecuted.

There was a heavy police presence in central Kampala on Tuesday. Roadblocks, especially near the city’s business district, were manned by police officers in riot gear, some in camouflage uniforms, blocking access to Uganda’s parliament.

Ugandans who had businesses near Parliament also had difficulty reaching their premises.

“It’s like a war zone,” Edwin Mugisha, who works in Kampala, told Reuters, referring to the military patrols.

Despite police repression, protesters said they remained steadfast in achieving their goal.

“We are here to show that it is not the police that have power, but the Constitution,” protester and human rights lawyer Ezra Rwashande told AFP. “We will not give in until the corrupt are removed from power.”