Two Kampala Capital City Authority-KCCA division speakers have been remanded to Luzira Prison for staging unlawful assembly.
The speakers Charles Lwanga Lubya, of Makindye division, and Justus Akampulirwa, of Kawempe division, were arrested on Monday from Parliament where they had gone to petition the Speaker over the prolonged detention of National Unity Platform (NUP) supporters. They were arrested together with Najja Nasif, a councilor from Kawanda in Nabweru Division, Nasana Municipality, and Hamuza Kasozi, of Nansana Municipality.
The group on Tuesday appeared before the City Hall Grade One Magistrate Edgar Karakire on charges of unlawful assembly.
Court heard that on Monday while at Parliament, the group assembled with the intent to carry out a common purpose and conducted themselves in a manner likely to cause persons in the neighborhood to fear that the accused would cause a breach of peace.
But the accused persons denied the charges and through their lawyer, Nasser Kibazo asked to be released on bail.
Karakire however adjourned the case on March 3 to allow him to study the bail documents and make a ruling on their application.
On Monday, Kampala Metropolitan Police deputy spokesperson Luke Owoyesigyire said while the speakers claimed that they were taking a petition to the Speaker of Parliament, “we feel this is not the way the petition should be taken to the Speaker.”
Mr Owoyesigyire said: “As leaders, they should have got an appointment with the speaker and approached the House in a manner that doesn’t depict that they are inciting violence.”
Since 2019, several Ugandans have been arrested and abducted by state operatives. Some were released after local and international public outcry. However, many are still in prison while others are still facing trial in the army court martial despite the civilian court ruling against their appearance there.
President Museveni has in the past admitted that many of the missing persons were arrested by the Special Forces Command, an elite force that protects him, for engaging in criminal activities.
