The leaders of the pressure group said today that the week long walk to work exercise will end in a massive rally at Kololo on Saturday next week.

Speaking at the launch of the campaign, A4C national coordinator, Hon. Mathius Mpuga states that this time the campaign is changed to walk for change seeking to high light issues to do with poverty, rampant corruption, economic crisis, unemployment among others.

Mpuga says that currently peasant Ugandans cannot afford two meals a day yet a small group of Ugandans in power are wasting tax payers’ money.

He also warns police not to disrupt this campaign saying the ‘walkers’ will not be holding processions. Mpuga says the exercise will be carried in different parts of the country.

Ultimate Media

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We have been informed that the youth complain that Besigye reportedly moblizes them to stage demonstrations such as the walk to work and the police tear gases them.

The chairperson of FDC youth, in Nakawa, Richard Nvanungi says that after the demonstrations Besigye leaves most of the youth in jail and goes to Europe to show the tapes of demonstrations to his funders.

Nvanungi says that when Besigye returns home he doesn’t reward the youth for the “work done”, but instead uses the money to buy land and buildings.

Nvanungi alleges that Besigye is running over 20 petrol stations around the country, owns an estate in Gangu in Makindye, Kasangati, Mpererwe and Rukingiri among other areas.

Although most people know that hotel imperia in Kampala are owned by city tycoon Sudhir Rupereria, Nvanungi alleges that Besigye recently bought it and left Sudhir to run it.

Nvanungi also alleges that some of the people who have been arrested in demonstrations are still in Luzira prison and Besigye has done little to rescue them.

It was not possible to independently verify these claims. We shall bring you Dr. Besigye’s reaction to these allegations as soon as we managed to get him to answer us back.

By Doreen Nyanzi

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The people who were this evening meeting the Security minister Muruli Mukasa says the children and family members who were depending on those who died are helpless because they dont have any source of income.

One of relatives Augustine Kabanda says they need to meet the president so that he fulfills the promise he made after the riots that the victims will be compensated.

Kabanda says  that they want government to take care of the widows and facilitates the education of the children who were orphaned.

They also alleged that the opposition leaders  have been calling  requesting them to take them to places where the victims were buried.

The minister promised to organize for them a meeting with President  Museveni but cautioned them not to be confused by the opposition requests.

Muluri Mukasa has also promised the nation that security agencies will be restrained from using excessive force in case of any riot to stop further deaths.

One of the relatives blamed the organizers of the protests, but also blamed the government security agencies for using excessive force that led to the death of their relatives.

By Isaac Senabulya

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Kizza Besigye being arrested

Besigye was arrested in April 2011 while walking to office and charged with rioting after proclamation, incitement to violence, and disobeying lawful orders of a traffic police officer.

In his judgment today, Wetyekere acquitted the walk to work cases against the FDC boss saying that according to his assessment of the case the accused has no case to answer.

The magistrate said the prosecution led by Gladys Nyanzi had failed to adduce enough evidence to warrant Besigye to even defend himself against the accusations.

Besigye says that the rulling Watyekere made is a rear one because members of the judiciary work in influence of the government.

He has thanked Watyekere for his boldness of calling a spade a spade and dismissing what Besigye calls trumped up charges aimed at only wasting his time.

Ultimate Media

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Besigye charged for walking to work

Besigye is facing charges of failing to obey lawful orders by Police officers in uniform during the walk-to-work demonstrations barely two months ago.

He has appeared before the Kasangati grade one Magistrate, James Ireemy, over charges which prosecution alleges that were committed on April 11. The expected witnesses in the case were; the suspended former in- charge of Kasangati Police post Collin David Mukite and the assistant inspector of traffic David Owiny.

The case has been adjourned to July 13. Another Besigye trial failed to take off yesterday in Nabweru court.
Ultimate Media

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The Director, research at BOU, Dr. James Mugume notes that annual core inflation nudged to 9.7% for the year ending April 2011 from 7.8% in the year ending March 2011.

Mugume also says that inflationary rate pick up is at 3% and mostly driven by people in Kampala by 57%, but notes that it will be moving down in a couple of months time as food prices move down due to improved weather conditions.

Some Uganda’s have in recent times been engaging in costly walk to work protests over the rising inflation resulting in high cost of living.

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murchison falls major Uganda torusim attraction

The Uganda Tourism Board has warned that the continued walks to work protest are badly affecting the tourism sector.

The country managed to collect 600 million dollars from  last year’s  tourism activities but with the continued walk to work protest that have entered their fifth week are stopping tourists from visiting the country for fear of their security.

The managing director of Uganda tourism board Edwin Muhazira says that the country is more likely to lose more than 100 million dollars each month if the protests continue. Tourism is one of the major revenue earning sectors in the country.

By Mugisa Isaac Mathias

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One of the group plying the Jinja road route comprising of, Budadili west MP, Nathan Nandala Mafabi, Patrick Amuriat, led by the party chief mobilizer, Maj.Gen. Gregory Mugisha Muntu moved through the capital to the party head offices with out any hindrances.

Mugisha Muntu

Muntu says all political leaders including FDC President Kizza Besigye and DP President Nobert Mao among others should be left to walk to their places of work, instead of violently stopping them with teargas as has been witnessed.

He also dismisses allegations that the party is planning to topple the NRM government saying its not in their minds to use force to remove the government.

Meanwhile, another group led by Tororo municipality MP, Goefrey Ekanya also moved up to the headquarters where he revealed that they are planning to sue individual police officers who were involved in unlawful brutal arrests and killings in this campaign.

As the group was moving on the streets of Kampala, they were joined by boda boda riders who moved on chanting the poor state of living conditions in the country.

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Margaret Sekaggya

Through a walking procession in different towns of Kampala carrying placards with readings, Fuel prices must go down, for a country without bread, bullets cannot be food, Respect Women’s’ bodies during arrest among others, women condemned the manner in which ladies are handled by security forces and called for peace in the country.

Over 100 women who participated in this walking procession from different organizations namely CEDOVIP, FOWODE, CEWIGO, UWONET, and ACFODE, FIDA-UGANDA among others, carried with them saucepans and mingling sticks as a sign that they no longer have what to cook at home.

Meanwhile, this walking procession was okayed by  police commanded by the DPC Kiira Road police station James Ruhweza who says he does not expect this peaceful demo to turn violent.

The activists also petitioned the UN special rapoutré on human rights, Margaret Sekaggya over the current alarming human rights situation in the country.

By Isaac Senabulya

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Kirunda Kivejinja, Uganda's Internal Affairs Minister

On April 27, 2011, Dr. Besigye was granted bail from Nakasongola court and one of his bail conditions clearly stated that he should not involve himself in unlawful assembly and processions as it would attract crowds within Kampala city disrupting the peace, security, and possible loss of life and property.

Yesterday April 28, 2011 at 6:30am, Dr. Besigye defiantly started walking from his home, Ssenide Road, Kasangati accompanied by about seven foreign journalists and three local journalists.

Three senior police officers advised Dr. Besigye to follow the court directive by Her Worship the Chief Magistrate Justine Atukwasa, to avoid unlawful assembly and processions for at least seven months.

He responded by challenging the police to buy him fuel for his car. Dr. Besigye moved while the police tried keeping order on the road, especially at strategic areas towards Kalerwe bearing in mind the violent and criminal nature of some of the people around the market area.

He got through the roof top of his vehicle and beckoned the crowd to join him. The crowd kept building up. Dr. Besigye reached Kalerwe-Kubbiri around 8am and insisted on driving towards Wandegeya Centenary Bank. The police blocked him at this point for two major reasons:

The route to Wandegeya has many people of different characters some of whom with potential to turn violent with intention to loot. Police had heard intelligence reports that Dr. Besigye wanted to divert through Makerere University to attract university students to improve his crowd to greater chances of causing chaos.

Kizza Besigye admitted at Nairobi Hospital

On consultations, Dr. Besigye was advised to go through Mulago around about and get to any Centenary Bank branch. If all his intentions were genuine, he could not defiantly refuse police’s humble advice.

He defiantly remained standing through the roof top of his car chatting with foreign journalists for about one hour. Thereafter, he took the left turn toward Mulago around about. As he drove he kept beckoning the crowds to follow him.

The mob started throwing stones at police who responded by chasing them away using batons and shield, without using tear gas at all. Dr. Besigye drove to Mulago round about and parked his car in the middle of the road after police blocked him from driving towards Wandegeya and was being directed to drive through Yusuf Lule Road up to his office in Najjanankumbi.

He defiantly stayed in the middle of the road for another three hours from 9:30am to midday disrupting traffic flow, despite repeated advice from senior police officers.
All this time, police acted with extreme restraint, keeping at bay the crowds from Katanga and Wandegeya who were being called in by Dr. Besigye.

The crowd began showering stones at the police, one stone hit the right eye of a police constable. At this time, the crowd surged and wanted to grab the policeman’s gun from him. Other police officer saved his gun and the injured constable was rushed to hospital.

At this time, a senior police officer approached the left window of Dr. Besigye’s car urging him to drive off. The officer was sprayed with a can of pepper spray by one of the associates of Dr. Besigye who was seated with him in the car. While this was going on, Dr. Besigye was giving press interviews that included foreign journalists.
By this time it had been evidently clear that:

Dr. Besigye was disrupting traffic intentionally.

He had defied police advise for 3 hours.

He and his group in the car had clear intentions to do harm to the police. This was exemplified by the equipment of the pepper spray used by one of his aides to spray the eyes of the police officer while he, himself was handling a hammer threatening police with words, “I will hammer you…”

The crowd following him had become more militant and violent to other road users by throwing stones.

Dr. Besigye was blatantly disobeying one of the conditions given to him while being granted bail at Nakasongola court the previous day.

Basing on the circumstances of the time and keeping in mind the degeneration of the situation it became irreversibly justified to use appropriate force and pepper spray to effect arrest of the defiant Dr. Besigye and his accomplices who were driven back to Kasangati Police Station en-route to the court of law.

While at Kasangati Police Station, Dr. Besigye was offered the services of the police surgeon which he refused, preferring to his sister Dr.Kobusingye who came and gave him first aid. His lawyers and Honourable Alaso had access to him.

Late afternoon, Dr. Besigye, his driver Fred Kato, Robert Kavuma, Sam Mugumya, Geofrey Kalanzi, Francis Mwijukye and Martin Byomuhangi were charged with taking part in an unlawful assembly C/S 65, sub section 66 of the Penal Code Act and assaulting a police officer C/S 238 (d) of the Penal Code Act.

Dr. Besigye was bailed out while his accomplices were remanded to Luzira Prison.
Today beginning around 9:30am, some rowdy groups crowded and began forming up at different places trying to block access roads to the city centre.

The police, therefore, within its constitutional mandate restored law and order and removed the blocks from the roads, opened the roads, disengaged the crowds to ensure that those with criminal intentions, DO NOT reach the city centre to disturb the normal business life of the city.

The police, other security agencies call upon the public to work hand in hand with it to ensure that law and order are maintained. The government assures the country that the situation is under control and every citizen should go about his/her way and anyone who disturbs the peace should be reported to the authorities for prompt action.

A.M. Kirunda Kivejinja
Third Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Internal Affairs

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