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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa on Thursday prematurely adjourned the house following protests against Police brutality.
Several MPS stood up expressing their displeasure about the Police for brutalizing eleven opposition female members of Parliament.
Earlier in the morning, police arrested Joyce Bagala, the Mityana District Woman Representative, Florence Kabugho (Kasese), Betty Ethel Naluyima (Wakiso), Joan Alobo (Soroti), Christine Kaaya Nakimwero (Kiboga), and Anifa Nabukeera of Mukono, among others for allegedly holding an illegal assembly.
The female legislators dressed in black gomsesi were intercepted at the gate of Parliament as they walked with placards to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to protest against alleged brutality by members of the Police Force and other security personnel. The Police using teargas allegedly disrupted belated Women’s Day celebrations in Mityana and other constituencies.
Tayebwa had requested the House to consider a supplementary budget request, but MPS could not heed saying the brutal arrest of their colleagues was urgent. He suspended the sitting for ten minutes in order to consult and harmonize with the opposition.
The House reconvened after 30 minutes only for Hon Thomas Tayebwa to inform those in the chambers that the leadership of Parliament had resolved to adjourn plenary until Tuesday 2 May because it was constrained to proceed with any other business.
He also directed Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja to provide a statement in the House in regards to what transpired, adding that the perpetrators of the incident must be investigated and action taken against them.
The Leader of Opposition, Mathias Mpuuga said it was difficult to calm down his colleagues due to emotions that had built up and he, implored Tayebwa to allow the lawmakers to vent out.
Images of women MPS being bundled on pickups and others being roughed up by female police officers were the subject of debate and condemnation on social and mainstream media.
After adjourning the House, the Deputy Speaker confirmed on his Twitter handle having ended the sitting prematurely.
Tayebwa strongly condemned what he described as the unjustified violence and indignity that Uganda’s security agencies have meted out on Women Members of Parliament.
He confirmed that the Women MPS were peacefully protesting against being harassed by police and the military when doing their work.
“It is this brutality that continues to stain our conscience as a country! If even MPs have no freedom of speech & assembly, who does?” said Tayebwa He said the MPS were peaceful and not armed “Some are bleeding and for some, the clothes were torn. It was as if they were arresting terrorists,” he said.
‘Their arrest was shamelessly done at the gates of Parliament. So I don’t know if really we are safe, if people can be deployed at the gates of parliament just to beat harmless citizens’ said Tayebwa
“My question is “Who are they working for?” and Who’s behind these people? I don’t think these are people who are working to protect the government or to promote a good image of the government. They must be working for an invisible hand that is aimed at bringing down the government because I don’t see any single justification” he added.
Relatedly, the Speaker of Parliament, Anita Among said also on Twitter said she had tasked the Minister of Internal Affairs to table a statement to the House on Tuesday, 2nd May 2023 on the matter.
Among said she had earlier received a petition from a section of Women MPs expressing concerns about how law enforcement officers have treated them in the past few days.
She called upon the security officers to respect the rights of citizens and follow the law in carrying out their mandate. Among was later in the afternoon seen at the Central Police Station in Kampala to secure the release of her members from Police custody. Mityana Woman MP, Joyce Bagala confirmed that they were released but she could not give details whether they were on police bond.
Bagala expressed disappointment that the police mercilessly tear-gassed her and her supporters, and sprayed her face with pepper and colored water, adding that ‘the same treatment was applied to other female legislators’
Kasese District Woman MP, Florence Kabugho observes that it is high time the Police restrained from engaging in partisan politics, describing the force’s image as ‘dented beyond repair’.
Earlier, General David Rubakuba Muhoozi, the Minister of State for Internal Affairs condemned the incident and promised that the incident will be investigated and perpetrators reprimanded for their actions.
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