Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has warned organizers of the planned an anti-corruption march to parliament on Tuesday, urging them to abandon their plans or face severe consequences.
Activists have called for the public to join their march to express dissatisfaction with corruption in the legislative body.
However, in a televised address on Saturday night, President Museveni stated, “Some elements, especially the opposition, are working with foreigners to ferment chaos in Uganda with illegal and inconsiderate processions. They should check themselves, or we will have no alternative but to check them.”
Museveni, who has led Uganda since 1986, criticized those he believes are undermining the country’s progress.
He said, “This huge amount of food we eat is produced by us, the wealth creators, and everybody benefits. We are busy producing wealth, and you here want to disturb us! You are playing with fire. We can’t allow you to disturb us.”
Addressing the impact of protests in busy areas, Museveni added, “When you hear people talking of demonstrations, when you do it in a place like Kampala where people are selling on the roadside, are you going to step in their products? You are playing. Don’t have such ideas in your head.”
The president suggested that protest organizers use Kololo Independence Grounds for their demonstrations and choose a less busy day like Sunday.
Earlier, Ugandan police had notified organizers that the protest would not be permitted in Kampala, citing intelligence that “some elements were trying to take advantage of the demonstration to cause chaos in the country.”
Ugandan police operations director Frank Mwesigwa said, “Demonstrations can only be allowed under our mandate as long as they are not causing public disorder and disrupting the lives of lawful citizens.”
