The 36 people, mostly youth below 25 years, have been produced in Kalisizo Magistrate’s Court where Joy Nambozo, the Chief Magistrate remanded them. They all maintained their innocence saying they are victims of circumstances.
At
least 36 people have been remanded to Ssaza Government Prison in Masaka district
for participating in protests that rocked Kyotera town council last week.
A
total of 60 people were arrested on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from
different areas of Kyotera.
They
were arrested by police in collaboration with the Uganda People’s Defence
Forces (UPDF) and the Local Defense Unit (LDU) in different operations across
the town council and district.
The
protests stemmed from the arrest of Presidential Candidate and leader of the
National Unity Platform (NUP) Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu ‘Bobi Wine’ in Luuka
district on Wednesday.
The 36 people mostly youths below 25 years, have been produced in Kalisizo
Magistrate’s Court where Joy Nambozo, the Chief Magistrate remanded them.
They
all maintained their innocence saying they are victims of circumstances.
Their
bail requested was declined due to lack of substantial sureties to represent
them.
According
Muhammad Nsubuga, the Masaka Regional Police Spokesperson, they are still
looking for more suspects in connection with the protest.
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However,
the situation has normalised in Kyotera and businesses have resumed with few
police deployments and patrols to ensure peace.
According
to Maj. David Matovu, the Resident District Commissioner (RDC), the district
security team is still alert and ready to foil any form of protest.
Matovu adds that there are still looking for some people said to be the architects of the
recent protests that resulted into commotion and disruption of businesses.
He says the situation is currently back to normal, adding that that they are relying
on intelligence information to identify them.
