Police, NUP supporters clash over garbage collection in Buikwe
Njeru District Police Commander, Ms Edith Basalirwa surrounded by NUP supporters after she stopped them from collecting garbage in markets and along the Jinja-Kampala highway on Saturday. PHOTO | GODFREY MASIKO
What you need to know:
- Njeru District Police Commander (DPC), Ms Edith Basalirwa, warned the Robert Kyagulanyi-led party supporters against “inciting the public”
Police in Njeru Municipality, Buikwe District have blocked the National Unity platform (NUP) Members of Parliament (MPs) and their supporters from collecting garbage in markets and along the Jinja-Kampala highway.
The Opposition group from Buikwe District and Kamwokya, a Kampala City suburb, had planned to clean Njeru Central, Wakisi and Nyenga, in the Njeru municipality under the auspices of ‘bulungi bwansi’.
However, a verbal altercation ensued between the group and Njeru District Police Commander (DPC), Ms Edith Basalirwa, who warned the Robert Kyagulanyi-led party supporters against “inciting the public”.
The group was later escorted from Kisoga to Bukaya, where they ended up at the parents’ home of Ms Farida Nabatanzi, the NUP mobiliser in Buikwe and 26 other districts.
Ms Nabatanzi said: “We received several calls from our supporters, offering to help us collect garbage from the streets since the government has failed to do so. We decided to collect the rubbish on its (government) behalf, but they fear someone merely holding a broom.”
According to Ms Nabatanzi, this initiative is going to spread to other districts that she said are already under mobilisation.
“We have come to know that people are willing to fund this campaign; already in Njeru, some retailers have given us Shs20,000 to go on with this campaign,” she noted.
The Ntenjeru South legislator, Mr Patrick Nsanja, rallied residents to voice their concerns, saying it is their right to stay in a safe and conducive condition.
Njeru municipality NUP coordinator, Mr Moses Lukanga, said as leaders, they can’t allow their people to live in deplorable conditions and have come up with alternative ways to see that they enjoy better working and living conditions.
“We had also planned to fix the potholes along the Jinja-Kampala highway. Every week, we get accidents on this road because of the potholes. Whenever Boda Boda riders try to dodge a pothole, they end up ramming into vehicles,” he said.
