Museveni nails anti-graft protesters to new cross

The revelations capped a day of high stakes – resumed demonstrations in Kampala and Arua City, which security quickly neutered, more arrests, and recall by the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) of case files of remanded demonstrators.

We were unable to establish the reason for the recall, with one source suggesting that it was to revise the indictment of being ‘idle and disorderly’, which the courts already expunged from the law books.

More than 90 demonstrators separately arrested on Tuesday and yesterday are in prison on additional charges of being common nuisance, pending bail hearing next week.

“They, obviously, thought that my advice was of no consequence ... the planners of these demonstrations wanted to do very bad things … The evidence [against them] in court will shock many,” President Museveni noted in a statement sent to newsrooms by his press team.

He added: “The charge [preferred] by the police of ‘idle and disorderly’ [which the DPP sanctioned], I suspect, was used because the deployed personnel did not have all the information. This was a high-quality, intelligence-led operation. I have most of the information.”

Section 148 of the Penal Code Act defines the offence of common nuisance as “any person who does an act not authorised by law or omits to discharge a legal duty and thereby causes any common injury, or damage or danger or annoyance, or obstructs or causes inconvenience to the public in the exercise of common rights, commits the misdemeanour termed as a common nuisance”

It’s punishable by up to one-year imprisonment.

Indications by the police that new charges were underway following the President’s statement that the masterminds planned to do something bad to the country, raised the prospects that newer indictments would likely be more serious and with tougher penalties.

Mr Museveni in his statement yesterday did not immediately share the proof of the mischief he alleged against the peaceful demonstrators, promising to elaborate more in an address next week. 

After weeks of online mobilisation, a group of mainly young Ugandans staged a protest in capital Kampala, dubbed March to Parliament, which crashed into a security wall shielding Parliament Building. 

Dozens were beaten during arrest and hurriedly charged at Buganda Road and Nakawa Chief Magistrates’ courts, and promptly remanded to Luzira Prisons.

Mr Faruk Kirunda, the deputy senior presidential press secretary, last evening declined to speak on the nature of additional evidence against them in the president’s possession, saying he could not comment on a matter already addressed by his boss. The accused are to reappear in court next week, and Chapter Four, a rights group, said three of them – all leaders of civil society organisations – had each been bailed at Shs500,000 from City Hall Court.

The freedom of the trio contrasted with the remand of more demonstrators yesterday after their protest in Kampala was foiled.

According to Mr Museveni, security blocked the demonstrations following intelligence that they were foreign funded, echoing accounts about past peaceful demonstrations in the country.

Uganda’s linking of the civil disobedience to external bankrollers mirrors claims by the William Ruto government that a revolt by Kenyan Gen Z, which forced him to disband Cabinet and one believed to have inspired the demonstrations in Kampala, was with financing of foreign actors. We could not independently verify the assertions by the neighbouring countries.

In his statement yesterday, President Museveni promised amnesty for organisers who voluntarily disclose particulars of their alleged financers to the Ethics minister.

“We shall not arrest them,” he noted, “In any case, we know a lot about the goings on in those groups. Our interest is to immunise Uganda against the schemes of the imperialists and their agents.”

We were unable to establish if any questionable cash from suspect funders were wired into the country and, if so, the details of the amounts, transfer period, recipients and the purpose.

Mr Samuel Wandera, the executive director of the Financial Intelligence Authority (FIA), the specialised national agency established to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, said he could not publicly disclose such “sensitive information”.

“For us we share with police. The law that establishes our organisation does not allow me to share information with you,” he said, referring our inquiries to police.

President Museveni said he would have joined the Tuesday march had it been a “patriotic, anti-corruption, peaceful demonstration, coordinated with the police”.

“That demonstration had two bad elements; … funding from foreign sources that are always meddling in the internal affairs of Africa … The second element was that some of the authors and participants of the demonstrations were planning very bad things against the people of Uganda. Those very bad things will come out in court when those arrested are being tried,” he noted, before congratulating security forces for suppressing the demonstrations.

Former Makerere University Guild President Shamim Nambasa, who identified herself in an earlier interview with this newspaper as one of the organisers of the demonstrations, yesterday castigated the State’s highhandedness, dismissing the money claims as made up.

“Do I need foreigners to tell me about the corruption that is eating up my country?” she said of Uganda where the Ombudsman reported that bureaucrats spirit away nearly Shs10 trillion annually.  

Following the Inspectorate of Government’s revelations, President Museveni declared corruption as the country’s “biggest problem” and made back-to-back public renewals to fiercely tackle the vice, prompting ActionAid to question his turn against anti-corruption crusaders inspired by his call for victims of graft to join him in the war.

“ActionAid International Uganda is dismayed by the highhanded, brutal and unlawful arrest of peaceful and largely youthful anti-corruption demonstrators,” Executive Director Xavier Ejoyi said in a statement, adding,  “We condemn the double speak by political leaders who, while calling citizens to lead the anti-corruption fight, yet attempt to trivialise, condone, even justify graft and ill-gotten wealth.”

Uganda National NGO Forum, a platform for all non-governmental organisations involved in pursuing good governance, called the arrests and prosecution of the demonstrators “unlawful”.

“It is crucial to recognise that the fight against corruption is a collective responsibility of every Ugandan,” the entity noted in a statement, asking the Judiciary and public prosecutors to work out unconditional release of citizens incarcerated for simply exercising constitutionally-guaranteed liberties.

Article 29(1) (d) and (e) of the 1995 Constitution provide that “every person shall have a right to freedom to assemble and to demonstrate together with others peacefully and unarmed, and to petition”.

The only encumbrances on this liberty permitted by the supreme law of the land are those justifiable in free and a democratic society.  Because security forces are ranged against anti-corruption crusaders, Ms Nambasa said they plan to target “corrupt” Members of Parliament at their homes and public places until their demands are met.

These conditions, among others, include resignation of Ms Anita Among as Speaker of the 11th Parliament alongside four parliamentary commissioners allocated Shs1.7b in personal-to-holder service awards.

Ms Among has been sanctioned by the United States and British governments, alongside three former and current ministers. They deny any wrongdoing.

Organisers said they have targeted Parliament in part because about half-a-dozen of its members on remand at Luzira Prisons on corruption-related charges after President Museveni in his June 6 State-of-the-Nation-Address revealed that he had evidence incriminating lawmakers in taking bribes to allocate votes in the national budget.

 “I am now leading this little war. We fought the bigger war. We shall win this one also,” he noted in his yesterday’s statement in which he designated Col Edith Nakalema to work with Ugandans disgruntled over graft for a march through the city in which he will participate. 

Col Nakalema is a former Head of State House Anti-corruption Unit (Shacu) and presently superintends the new State House Investors Protection Unit.

It remained unclear why President Museveni chose her, and not leaders of accountability institutions such as the Ombudsman and Shacu, to lead the latest anti-corruption crusade.

On Wednesday this week, a day after the first demonstration, she met National Youth Council officials led by Chairperson Jacob Eyeru and they agreed to work together in fighting corruption, but without protests.

Additional Reporting by Anthony Wesaka