13 men arrested in Budaka District last month for allegedly planning to riot after the Feburary 18th presidential and parliamentary elections are still languishing in jail.
The group was arrested on their way to Kampala where they reportedly intended to participate in demonstrations against the outcome of teh elections. All 13 men are from Muyaka village in Mbale district.
The group was first detained for two weeks without trial at Budaka. The suspects were then transferred to the Mbale Central Police Station cells, but were not charged in court.
Mbale District Police Commander Jacob Opolot refuses to speak to the media about the case. He only says that the matter is being handled by the eastern regional police headquarters.
Diana Nandaula, the eastern regional police spokesperson, promises that the suspects will be released later today. She claims that they were held for long because they had no identification on them and their intended activity was illegal.
Nandaula says it has since been established that the men had nothing to do with election violence. They were on their way to Jinja to be employed as casual workers at an engineering project/
The police have not released the names of the suspects and will not comment on whether they will compensate the group for illegal detention.
Ugandan law bars the police from holding suspects without charge for more than 48 hours. The only exception to this is for suspects held on terrorism charges.
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