The police in Kampala have let go of 14 people who support the National Unity Platform (NUP). They were arrested on Independence Day when they were getting ready to have prayers.
The spokesperson for the Kampala Metropolitan Police, Patrick Onyango, said that the group included NUP secretary general David Lewis Rubongoya, party spokesperson Joel Ssenyonyi, and its head of mobilization, Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu. They were released without any charges.
The police arrested them as a precaution, but they didn’t accuse them of any crimes. The soldiers and police arrested them in Kamwokya and other places in Kampala.
They arrested Rubongoya and Ssenyonyi after they talked to reporters, and they took them to Kira Road Police Station.
Some Members of Parliament, like Betty Nambooze and Francis Katabaazi, went to the police station and asked for their release.
The police said the suspects were taken from their party offices for trying to organize separate Independence Day celebrations. They thought the supporters had other plans, like causing trouble during the celebrations.
The police had information that the NUP supporters were using the offices as a meeting point. They would get a number and then go out to protest. They planned to burn things and cause problems during Independence Day celebrations in Kitgum, Northern Uganda.
NUP president, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, said on social media that the police raided their headquarters to stop them from talking to the country. He also said they met with the families of some NUP supporters who were taken away or put in jail for supporting change.
They comforted the families and prayed for their loved ones to come back. Kyagulanyi said that Uganda wouldn’t truly be independent if people were punished for having different political opinions. He said they had to stand up against this unfairness.
