Led by the NUP party Coordinator in Tooro, Innocent Natukunda, the leaders said that the subsequent arrests and shooting of those who were protesting Kyagulanyi’s arrest in several parts of the country were illegal acts.
Leaders of National Unity Platform - NUP in Tooro Sub-region are
demanding for the immediate release of the Party's presidential candidate,
Robert Kyagulanyi.
Kyagulanyi was arrested on Wednesday in Luuka district and he is currently
being detained at Nalufenya Police Station in Jinja.
During a press conference on Thursday, NUP leaders in Tooro argued that the act
of arresting Kyagulanyi was irregular and undermining efforts of having a free
and fair election.
Led by the NUP party Coordinator in Tooro, Innocent Natukunda, the leaders said
that the subsequent arrests and shooting of those who were protesting
Kyagulanyi’s arrest in several parts of the country were illegal acts.
“We are informed fully that these are coercive force operations that tend to
impart fear in our citizen. This is nothing to reflect what democracy means
that the NRM government has always disguised to be championing,” reads part of
their press statement.
They say that if the government fails to release Kyagulanyi within the shortest
time possible, they will stage protests in the districts of Tooro that include
Kabarole, Kyenjojo, Kyegegwa, Ntoroko, Bunyangabu and Kamwenge and
Kitagwenda and the newly-created Fort Portal Tourism City.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday evening, unknown people broke into the Kyenjojo NUP
office that is located along Kyenjojo - Mubende highway in Kyenjojo Town
Council. Natukunda said that 8,000 posters of party candidates in the district
and those of Kyagulanyi were stolen while those that had been plastered on walls
and pinned on streets around the district have since been pulled down.
According to the campaign programme by the Electoral Commission, Kyagulanyi was
scheduled to hold rallies in Tooro starting with Kyegegwa on Monday, and
Natukunda said they will continue with preparations even when Kyagulanyi is
still in detention.
//Cue in: “We shall continue…
Cue out… rights of Ugandans.”//
The arrest and detention of the NUP party presidential candidate and other
Ugandans following Wednesday's riots has since drawn criticism for the
government from national and international bodies including the United Nations
– UN and Inter-religious Council of Uganda – IRCU.
Also, other presidential candidates like Nobert Mao of Democratic Party – DP,
Independent Henry Tumukunde, Mugisha Muntu of Alliance for National
Transformation – ANT, have since suspended their planned campaign rallies,
demanding the release of Kyagulanyi.
