Bobi Wine: Ugandan police places ban on opposition leader’s rallies
Ugandan police have banned political demonstrations hosted by opposition leader Robert Kyagulanyi, commonly known as Bobi Wine.
Police cited concerns related to violation of public order and alleged defamation against president Yoweri Museveni.
Tumusiime Katsigazi, Deputy Inspector-General of Police, said on Wednesday that one person died and ten others were critically injured in the National Unity Platform (NUP) party rallies.
The development, the police said, called for the immediate ban on the rallies to prevent further breakdown of law and order.
Mr Katsigazi cautioned NUP supporters against “mob mentality…against civilians and security enforcers.”
The police also charged Mr Kyagulanyi, the main opposition leader, with inciting sectarianism in his rallies, which began on Monday.
In response to the ban, Mr. Kyagulanyi has publicly declared his intention to proceed with the rallies.
The ban on Bobi Wine’s political rallies comes amid growing political tensions and heightened scrutiny of opposition activities in Uganda.
Reports of repression and suppression of oppositions are common as the strive to unseat the septuagenarian Museveni, who has been ruling the country over the last three decades is always a tug of war, leading to serious confrontations between the authorities and opposition supporters.
