Uganda charges opposition lawmakers, supporters over protest

Ugandan opposition supporters stand in the dock where they were charged with terrorism-related offences, after they were deported from neighbouring Kenya, where they had traveled to attend a training course in Kisumu, at the Nakawa Chief Magistrates court in Kampala, Uganda July 29, 2024. REUTERS/Abubaker Lubowa
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KAMPALA — Police arrested 14 Ugandan opposition officials and supporters on Monday as they marched through the capital towards the Kenyan embassy. The protest was in response to Nairobi’s recent detention and deportation of a group of their colleagues, local media reported.

The arrests and last month’s deportations come amid anti-government demonstrations in both Kenya and Uganda, although Kampala’s streets were otherwise quiet on Monday.

On July 23, Kenyan authorities detained 36 members of Uganda’s opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) who had traveled to Kenya for a training course, according to the group’s lawyers. These individuals were subsequently deported back to Uganda, where they were charged with terrorism-related offenses, which they have denied.

Uganda court charges 36 opposition supporters with terrorism-related offences in Kampala
Ugandan opposition supporters gesture in the dock where they were charged with terrorism-related offences, after they were deported from neighbouring Kenya, where they had traveled to attend a training course in Kisumu, at the Nakawa Chief Magistrates court in Kampala, Uganda July 29, 2024. REUTERS/Abubaker Lubowa/File Photo

Monday’s march included 14 other members of the FDC, among them two lawmakers, who protested against the treatment of their colleagues. Reports from the Daily Monitor and other media outlets indicate that these protesters were arrested for “participating in unlawful assembly activities,” according to police spokesperson Patrick Onyango. They were later charged in a magistrate’s court with being “a public nuisance,” per a charge sheet seen by Reuters.

All of the accused pleaded not guilty. Four were released on bail, while the remaining ten were remanded to prison and are scheduled to return to court on August 7, according to an FDC official who wished to remain anonymous due to a lack of authorization to speak on behalf of the party.

Critics of President Yoweri Museveni’s government and human rights campaigners have long accused the administration of using fabricated charges to suppress opposition. Government officials have consistently denied these allegations.

President Museveni, 79, has ruled the East African country of 46 million since 1986.