LOP calls for boycott of Museveni’s swearing-in ceremony

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT |  Two Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Members of Parliament have called for the boycott of President Museveni’s swearing-in ceremony.

The MPs, Atkins Katusabe the Bukonzo West MP and shadow Minister Foreign Affairs and the Leader of Opposition and Gulu Woman MP Betty Aol Ochan are demanding that all Ugandans arrested during and after the 2021 general elections be released.

Addressing a press conference at Parliament on Thursday, Katusabe said that Government should disclose the whereabouts of the missing people and ensure they have access to their doctors, lawyers and family members. 

He also called for the prosecution of security officers cited in brutality towards Ugandans but also compensate the victims. 

Several people have in the past been arrested by armed security men both in uniform and in plain clothes travelling in numberless “Drone” vehicles from either their homes or workplaces and many of them have never been seen again raising fear among members of the public.

Katusabe also said that members of the diplomatic community and members of the public should keep away from the swearing-in ceremony of President Museveni due to the country’s worst human rights record.

He says that opposition leaders who will turn up for the event should be shunned.

Katusabe also called on Government to release American Citizen Guy Smith who has been in incarceration, two months. According to Katusabe, Guy’s condition is worsening at the detention centre.

In March, Guy Smith was arrested for alleged subversive activities in Fort Portal, Kabarole.

Aol said that it is sad that Ugandans are being abducted and held incommunicado. 

She says other countries should join the United States to impose travel restrictions on Ugandans involved in human rights violations. 

President Museveni will be sworn in on May 12 at an event expected to be attended by up to 20 heads of States and several dignitaries. 

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