KAMPALA (Reuters) – Authorities in Uganda deployed military and police on Tuesday around parliament and the centre of Kampala, the capital, a Reuters witness said, aiming to deter a protest against the government planned by young people.
Military armoured personnel carriers patrolled the streets around parliament in images broadcast by NTV Uganda television after police banned the protest, citing intelligence showing criminally-minded youth may hijack it to loot and vandalise.
All roads to parliament were blocked off, with security officials permitting access only by lawmakers and other parliamentary staff.
Those with businesses near parliament were experiencing difficulty getting to their premises, the Reuters witness said.
“It’s like a war zone,” Edwin Mugisha, who works in Kampala, told Reuters, describing the patrols around parliament and other roads.
Young people in Uganda have planned a march on parliament to protest what they say are rampant corruption and human rights abuses by the government of President Yoweri Museveni.
On Monday police sealed off the offices of the biggest opposition party, accusing it of mobilising for the protests, and detained some party officials, including its lawmakers.
The party denied it was organising the march, but said it supported it.
Opposition leaders and rights activists who say embezzlement and misuse of government funds are widespread in Uganda have long accused Museveni of failing to prosecute corrupt senior officials who are politically loyal or related to him.
Museveni has repeatedly denied condoning corruption and says whenever there is sufficient evidence culprits are prosecuted, for example lawmakers and even ministers.
(Writing by Elias Biryabarema; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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