Ahead of scheduled demonstrations, Ugandan security forces seal opposition party headquarters

Monday, soldiers and police locked off the offices of Uganda’s largest opposition party under what a police spokesman described as a precautionary action ahead of anti-government demonstrations scheduled for Tuesday notwithstanding a ban.

Popularly known as Bobi Wine, National Unity Platform (NUP) party chief Robert Kyagulanyi claimed in posts on social media platform X that security officials had surrounded NUP offices in the capital Kampala, forbidding anybody from entering or leaving.

Wine also displayed images of military forces on the grounds alongside parked army vehicles and claimed many NUP officials had been “violently arrested”.

“The military and police have raided and surrounded the National Unity Platform offices,” he declared. “The cowardly government fears the people so much since they know how much they have wronged them!”

When asked for reaction to the claimed arrests, police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke did not answer right away.

Rising as the largest rival to seasoned President Yoweri Museveni, 79, who has led the East African country since 1986, Wine, 42, a music sensation turned politician, has lately become more and more active.

Young Ugandan activists who have led recent demonstrations vow to march to parliament on Tuesday in opposition to a ban on the event, which is meant to expose claimed rampant corruption and violations of human rights under Museveni’s long-term leadership.

Wine claimed his party supported Tuesday’s demonstrations but did not plan them.

Rusoke claimed security officials had acted preventatively against what he described as NUP “mobilization for the protest.”

“We have kept an eye on (this). Their behavior alerted us and we acted accordingly,” he said.

Protests are constitutionally lawful in Uganda, but organizers must first get police permission in advance—which is hardly ever given.

Opposition leaders and rights groups claim corruption and misuse of government funds are common in Uganda and have long accused Museveni of failing to punish corrupt top-level officials who are politically loyal or close to him.

Museveni says whenever there is enough proof that offenders—including legislators and even ministers—are punished; he has frequently denied allowing corruption.

“To arrest and prosecute all government officials linked to ghost civil servants on the payroll,” Museveni on Monday instructed the Criminal Investigations Directorate, according to his government’s X.

Speaking on Saturday, he cautioned young people from Uganda against the intended demonstrations, claiming foreign sponsorship of them.

“Some individuals, some of which come from the opposition, are always working with the foreigners to create havoc in Uganda — riots, illegal demonstrations, illegal and careless processions, etc. These folks… should check themselves; else, we will have no choice except to check them,” he stated.

Tensions in the nation have been raised by the government’s choice to send security personnel to lock off the NUP headquarters and seize some party officials. Many Ugandans view this as an attack on their democratic liberties directly.

Uganda has a past of suppressing opposition activity, usually justified by security issues. Critics of the government contend that these actions are aimed to quell opposition and uphold the hold on power by the ruling party.

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With various human rights organizations denouncing of the government’s activities, the worldwide community has been keenly observing the situation in Uganda. They have demanded the jailed NUP leaders to be released immediately and pushed the Ugandan government to honor their constitutional right to peaceful assembly.

Many people are observing as the scenario unfolds to see how the Ugandan government will respond to the scheduled demonstrations and whether they will follow advice for moderation and communication. The way the government and the security authorities handle the matter could have major effects on the political direction of the nation and its interaction with the outside world.