The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A day after police unleashed brutality against Rtd. Col. Dr. Kiiza Besigye, he has vowed not to give up on his struggle to liberate Uganda.
Addressing journalists at his Katonga based offices on Tuesday evening; Besigye recounted how he was saved by people in his car from falling down after police use water cannons to splash water inside his vehicle at Kireka in Wakiso district on Monday.
Besigye had gone to Mandela National Stadium where Forum for Democratic Change-FDC party members had converged for a conference. Police pepper sprayed, tear gassed and flashed water cannons at Besigye and other FDC party members as they proceeded to their party headquarters after being blocked from meeting in Namboole.
The four time presidential candidate said, he and other forces of change will continue to fight fearlessly no matter what the government does to them. Besigye said those who will survive the brutality of the incumbent regime will live to see the fruits of their struggle while others will be remembered for their contribution to the liberation.
Besigye had just returned from abroad when he was invited to attend the FDC seminar at Namboole. Police blocked the seminar, saying FDC hadn’t cleared the meeting with police as required by the Public Order Management Act. However, as Besigye and other FDC officials drove through Kireka, they were intercepted by Police.
Besigye’s vehicle was blocked from moving for more than half an hour. Police attempted to tow away the vehicle in vain as the chains kept breaking. He managed to get way but was intercepted by police at Nakawa from where he was sprayed with tear gas and water.
He was arrested and taken to Naggalama and freed in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. Besigye says such attacks against opposition leaders are meant to intimidate Ugandans.
Besigye says Ugandans are under captivity and their role as the People’s government is to liberate Uganda through to rationalizing Ugandans. He says for Ugandans to break out of the captivity they are immersed in, they need to be made aware of the situation they are in such that they understand the cause of their suffering.
He also said Ugandans need to be organized through proper structures to take action, adding that their goal is to liberate Uganda and not necessarily taking over power. Besigye says the people’s government has been moving to different regions mobilizing Ugandans.
The Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, Patrick Onyango, told URN that they arrested 58 people comprising of 49 males and 9 females who were taken to Kira Police Station.
He says women were released on police bond on Tuesday while the rest will be screened for police to know who to retain and who to issue police bond.
He says FDC wrote to police notifying them of their event and were advised to hold the event indoors, something the FDC defied.
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