CURFEW: President to address nation at 8pm today

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT & URN |  President Yoweri Museveni will outline the government’s steps in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, and also outline new measures related to the lock-down that has been in place since March.

While government eased the lock-down three weeks ago, some measures like the curfew remain in place.

With duration of the curfew set to end, the Minister in Charge of Security General Elly Tumwine at the weekend insisted that the night-time curfew will remain in force until the head of State communicates otherwise.

Tumwine had initially announced that the curfew, which runs from 7 pm to 6; 30 a.m., would end today, June 21 in line with the 21 days that the Head of State announced when he last addressed the country about the measures to control the spread of coronavirus disease on June 1.

However, Tumwine told URN in an interview this morning that the curfew has not been lifted yet and regulations will be enforced until the president communicates otherwise.

Similarly, Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga said that the curfew was put in place through a Statutory Instrument and that the police will continue implementing the regulations until they receive a contrary order.

However, a cross-section of Uganda found on the streets of Kampala expressed mixed reactions on the continued implementation of curfew. Some said that it should stay because it has controlled the movement of thugs in the wee hours of the night, while others say it’s a set back to their businesses.

Although curfew starts at 7 p.m. motorists in Kampala are often seen driving beyond the limit owing to heavy traffic on the roads.  Security teams had also relaxed the enforcement with the partial opening of the lockdown which saw the return of public transport included buses and taxis as well as private vehicles.