The police on Friday blocked a press conference by three human rights organizations that had been called to talk about the wave of abductions in the country.
Police arrived a few minutes before the press conference could start and said it hadn’t been cleared. Plain clothed and on uniform police asked the restaurant managers and organisers to cancel the press conference because they were unaware of the gathering.
Police asked the journalists to leave the premises before it took action.
” What is this gathering for, are you journalists? Personally, as an individual I like you people and I have interacted with a number of you, but what I don’t want is this thing according to the intelligence network was not sanctioned by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), so we don’t know why this gathering is here.so with due respect I make a request to you to pick up our machines and then we move away kindly,’’ said a police officer whose name tag read Igune.
Mr Ronald Katushabe, one of the organisers said four Human Rights Organisations including; African Justice Media, Rubaga Social Justice Center, The African Libertarian Union and The Human Rights Defenders Union had joined efforts to voice concerns over the new trend of abductions. He said that they are against the kidnaps of people without trial.
When we contacted Kampala Metropolitan Spokesperson Patrick Onyango, he said he’s not aware of this incident.
The Deputy Spokesperson of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa on Tuesday sent Mr Zaake Francis to the House’s Committee on Rules, privileges and discipline for disciplinary action over what he called misconduct.
Zaake refused to sit down and continued to raise his voice after he rose a matter of National importance concerning the recent abductions of a Muslim Cleric Sheikh Yahaya Ramathan Mwanje and former presidential candidate Joseph Kabuleta and other NUP suppoters as Jamshid Kavuma even when Tayebwa asked him to.
National Unity Platform have made claims that security operatives have been abducting and torturing their supporters since September.
