The Uganda Law Society (ULS) has dispatched a team of lawyers to Jinja Road Police Station and other detention centers in Kampala to secure the release of protesters arrested during an anti-corruption march on Tuesday. ULS president Bernard Oundo, accompanied by lawyers from the Legal Aid Project, arrived at the police station to negotiate bond for the detained individuals.
This legal intervention comes in response to a series of arrests made by Ugandan security forces as young activists attempted to march to Parliament. Among those detained were former Rubaga South MP candidate Habib Buwembo and comedian Samuel Okanya, known as Sammy.
Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke had earlier warned against the protest, stating, “We will not tolerate disorderly conduct. We understand and acknowledge individual rights, but we have a duty to maintain law and order that we cannot evade.”
The protesters’ demands include the resignation of Speaker of Parliament Anita Among and four backbench commissioners, a reduction in the number of MPs, an audit of MPs’ lifestyles, and a cap on MPs’ salaries and allowances at 3 million Ugandan shillings.
ULS representatives are visiting multiple police stations where protesters are being held, offering legal representation and assistance. The law society has stated its readiness to provide legal aid to all detained protesters, underscoring the tension between civil liberties and government control in Uganda.
nilepost.co.ug
