The police have suspended a countrywide tour by NUP’s Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine.
Deputy Inspector General of Police Tumusiime-Katsigazi said in a statement on Wednesday that in areas where Bobi Wine has been, there were “total breaches to the guidelines, thus causing public disorder, unnecessary traffic jams, loss of business, and malicious damage to property; for instance, in Mbarara City, their rowdy supporters vandalized a Toyota Hiace, under reg. no. UBD 251J, and traffic accidents, including a fatal one in Hoima City on September 11, 2023, where one, Mugisa Norman, died and 10 others got serious injuries, during the NUP convoy.”
“In Kasana-Luweero District, the mobilization activity was used to incite violence, promote sectarianism, make illegitimate calls for the removal of an elected government, and issuance of defamatory statements against the person of H.E. the President of the Republic of Uganda,” Katsigazi said.
In view of the above blatant breaches of the guidelines, the DIGP announced that “the activities of the NUP are immediately suspended.”
The DIGP said the announcement is a follow-up to “our communication of September 12, 2023, to the NUP leadership, halting the planned mobilization activities and opening of offices until such a time that they are ready to comply with the guidelines and rule of law.”
He added that “We are sending this strong message: that our country, Uganda, will not wait for its villages, towns, urban centers, and cities to burn before taking action to protect its citizens and property.”
“We are going to put an end to the mob mentality, bullying, and intimidating tactics of NUP radicals against innocent civilians and law enforcers. We have very robust plans to uphold the rule of law in liaison with other stakeholders and will respond appropriately against all perpetrators of incitement to violence that can lead to civil unrest throughout the country. Uganda is one of the safest countries in the region and across the globe, and we plan for it to remain that way. This directive stands until such a time when the NUP is compliant and law-abiding,” the DIGP added.
