POLICE: No signatures or cash were confiscated in NUP office siege

Kampala, Uganda |  THE INDEPENDENT |  The items that were confiscated during the police siege on the offices of the National Unity Platform early this week, did not contain any money or even signatures of people endorsing Robert Kyagulanyi for the Presidency, Police have said. 

Police says that the operation mounted by a joint security team on Wednesday aimed at retrieving military and police wear from the National Unity Platform-NUP offices.  But during the operation, police also confiscated some branded materials.

In the aftermath, the party indicated that police personnel had confiscated a sum of sh23 million and Kyagulanyi’s nomination forms, among other items. The money was allegedly meant to cover nomination fees for NUP parliamentary candidates.

Now the Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga says that the accusations are baseless. He says that record shows that the items that were picked from the offices included 67 green berets, 233 red berets, 99 overalls, 178 badges, 6 rolls of belts, 11 pairs of navy blue warm suits, 102 red overalls, and some written materials indicating plans of attacking security during the electoral process.          

Enanga says that among the 82 screened suspects who were picked during the operations, 31 were charged with offences related to abuse of police uniforms.

Similar operations were conducted in the areas of Makindye, Kiyembe (Luwum Street), Mulago, Bwaise and Kawempe. Security says the offices were targeted as one of the places involved in the manufacture, and distribution of uniforms that were gazetted as a preserve of the armed forces. 

Joel Ssenyonyi, the NUP spokesperson says the party has resumed the collection of fresh nomination signatures required to endorse Kyagulanyi as the party president as the party lawyers prepare to take the matter to courts of law.  

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