JINJA – Police has Wednesday blocked leaders of the Democratic Party from holding a party reunion in the Eastern town of Uganda, resulting into the arrest of Norbert Mao, the party President.
Mao, together with other political leaders from the DP, including Sam Lubega were in Jinja to attend the DP Busoga reunion but Police which had deployed heavily at Rugby Grounds could not allow them.
The Police spokesperson for Kiira Region Diana Nandawula said the DP leaders had not secured permission as required by law for a public assembly to take place.
“The DP-UYD Reunion meeting that was scheduled to take place today will not go on as planned because they didn’t fulfill the POMA guidelines of holding a public assembly,” Nandawula said.
When Mao defied the orders to vacate the premises, he together with other DP members were arrested and whisked away in Police pickups.
Before his arrest, Mao termed the manner in which Police operates as “not healthy”.
“We are a registered political party, our only business is politics. There is nothing else we do,” Mao said.
A scuffle would then ensue between Sulaiman Kidandala and Lubega, and Police officers as they attempted to force themselves into the rugby field, against the orders of the police officers.
Lubega told reporters that it was unfortunate that Police personnel “armed to the teeth” were restricting DP members from using a venue they had booked officially as the law states, and notified Police about their intentions.
On his part, youthful political activist Moses Bigirwa who is affiliated to the People Power movement said the only purpose of blocking the reunion in Jinja was for Police to prevent Kyadondo East MP, Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine from attending the event.
“The motive is that they don’t Bobi Wine to access Jinja, to talk to the people,” Bigirwa said.