Demonstrations break out in Uganda as people note Kenya’s protest success

KAMPALA, Uganda — Ugandan security forces on Tuesday arrested dozens of people who tried to walk to the parliament building to demonstrate against high-level corruption in protests that authorities said were illegal.

Police and the military deployed heavily in various parts of Kampala where small groups of protesters had gathered. Police roughed up some campaigners as they were forced into trucks. The police frequently use force to break up demonstrations by opposition leaders and others.

The protests were organized by Ugandans who hope to emulate efforts by people in neigbouring Kenya, where demonstration recently forced the president to dismiss almost his entire cabinet after widespread opposition to a proposal to impose new taxes.

Ugandans have been provoked by mounting allegations of corruption against the parliament speaker, Anita Among, who has rejected calls for her resignation after revelations online of allegedly irregular expenditure by her office and others close to her.

Among, a senior member of Uganda’s ruling party, has since been sanctioned by the U.S. and the U.K. She has denied wrongdoing, and her supporters say she’s been unfairly targeted in a country where corruption is rampant among officials. She is now the subject of an official probe into the source of her wealth as well as charges she misused parliamentary resources.

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, an authoritarian leader in power since 1986, has called the street protests intolerable, and warned protest organizers in a televised address that they were “playing with fire.”

“We all expected most people not to show up because of the fear and also the intimidation that is still evident in the streets, like several streets have been blocked,” said said protester Safina Nakayiza. “If they see anyone marching with a placard or a manila paper with words on them, they have been arresting several people and denying lawyers access to them.”

Museveni’s government has long been accused of shielding corrupt but influential officials from criminal prosecution. After his reelection to a sixth term in 2021, Museveni promised to crack down on corruption. But many Ugandans are not hopeful.

Local media outlets frequently report on corruption issues, but activists, opposition figures and others who try to stage demonstrations face arrest under a law that requires them to first notify police of their plans to rally.