Why police blocked Besigye in Kampala
By Abubaker Lubowa | Monitor
Police on Tuesday blocked Ugandan political activist Dr Kizza Besigye from participating in a public debate on the divisive East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Kampala.
Early Tuesday morning, Dr Besigye arrived at Emerald Hotel along Bombo Road where the debate was set to happen only to find the venue barricaded by police and military officials.
Police said “no one was allowed into the hotel without written authorization from the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Martins Okoth-Ochola.”
“This is a very topical issue. It’s a matter of national interest. The meeting is taking place in a hotel room and not public. It cannot be regulated by the Public Order Management Act (POMA). There’s no law that requires me to produce a letter authorizing me to attend an indoor meeting. Where does police derive the power to stop citizens from attending meetings in a hotel?” the former presidential candidate said. Read more
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