Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, has warned protesters planning an anti-corruption march on Tuesday to the desist from the action.
According to him, they are “playing with fire” and will not be tolerated.
The protesters, mostly young Ugandans, are demanding an end to corruption in government and have been inspired by recent demonstrations in neighbouring Kenya.
Giving the warning during a televised address, Museveni accused the protest organisers of working with foreigners to cause chaos in the country, and threatened that the government won’t allow disruptions to the country’s progress.
“We are busy producing wealth… and you here want to disturb us. You are playing with fire because we cannot allow you to disturb us,” he said in a televised address as stated by British Broadcasting Corporation.
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Police have refused to grant permission for the march, but protest leaders have said they will proceed anyway, citing their constitutional right to peaceful demonstration.
“We don’t need police permission to carry out a peaceful demonstration. It is our constitutional right,” one of the main protest leaders, Louez Opolose, told Agence France-Presse (AFP).
A protester, Shamim Nambasa, speaking with AFP, said, “Our starting point in the fight against corruption is parliament… and the demonstration is on irrespective of what police is saying.”
The march comes amid growing discontent over corruption in Uganda, with the United States and United Kingdom recently imposing sanctions on high-ranking officials, including parliamentary speaker Anita Annet Among, over allegations of corruption.
