The top leadership committee of Police has summoned Koboko District Police Commander over the recent political procession allegedly organised by State Minister for Investment and Privatisation Evelyn Anite.
The summons follow a video clip that made its way online over the weekend showing hundreds of Anite’s supporters in Koboko municipality marching and chanting her name in disregard of measures such as social distancing and mask-wearing as set by the government in the prevention of coronavirus spread. Nevertheless, Anite who is the area MP and seeking re-election to parliament has since distanced herself from holding a procession in question.
“The procession that has been widely viewed on social media was not a campaign rally. I did not organize it and neither did my Team. I was not even there,” Anite said.
However, while addressing journalists at Media Centre in Kampala on Monday,the Police spokesperson Fred Enanga said that Anite was there but she managed to immediately escape and came to Kampala before Police took action on organisers.
According to Enanga, the clips that were circulating all over the social media showing some politicians holding serious political rallies and processions were so disturbing discouraging to other communities which have endeavoured to see that all Standard Operating Procedures on Covid-19 are put in place while campaigning.
“Yesterday due to the disturbing images that we kept getting, from all these places, the management has summoned all the territorial commanders from these places to report to the Police Headquarters today, those who are not able to account for their Police action, for their failure to stop these processions, that are illegal and have the potential of increasing the risk or the threat of the virus to the Ugandans, they will be handled disciplinarily for failure to carry out their Police mandate in a responsible manner,” he said.
Enanga also blamed Minister Anite for setting a bad precedent as a minister which ends up frustrating the security officers on the ground trying to enforce the Covid-19 guidelines.
“One of the illegal processions was that of the incumbent MP for Koboko municipality that is Hon Minister Evelyn Anite. Coming in a big crowd in a procession involving vehicles, an ambulance with a music system that was making a loud sound. This is a very wrong message of communication from an honourable minister during this period of Covid-19,” he said.
In order to disperse them, police managed to track down the organisers however others managed to escape. “All those who organised these illegal processions are going to be tracked down arrested and be charged for organising unlawful assembly and also for disobedience of lawful orders, acting negligently in the manner that can lead to spreading of Covid-19 in Uganda,” he said.
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