At least two people were injured on Saturday, as police broke up a procession that followed opposition politicians after they addressed a rally in Kabale town.
The rally oragnised by the Forum for Democratic Change at Kabale Municipal Stadium on Saturday ended in running battles between the police and the supporters.
The injured include a civilian and a police officer who has not yet been identified and is receiving treatment at Kabale police Barracks health centre. The civilian was whisked away by the Red Cross.
Locals claim that the policemen who were using vehicle number UP hit the injured supporter with a rubber bullet.
The rally started peacefully but later turned violent after the police blocked the FDC president Col. Dr Kizza Besigye from taking the Kisoro road where he wanted to go and meet party supporters at Highland hotel.
Police blocked the road a move that angered the supporters and some of the opposition leaders. The leaders included FDC Women’s league chairperson Ingrid Turinawe, Mubarak Munyagwa, the Kawempe mayor and Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago among others.
They defied police directives and started moving towards Highland Hotel until they were intercepted by armed police commanded by Bosco Arop, the Kabale district police commander.
The supporters turned rowdy and started hurling stones at the policemen who immediately responded by firing teargas and shooting in the air.
The angry crowds engaged the police in running battles for over thirty minutes and the violence spread from the entrance of the stadium to Kabale Garage street where angry mechanics started throwing all that they could land on at the police men.
More violence broke out at Katuna road junction as the police tried to block Besigye and his supporters from taking the Katuna road in vain.
After being blocked, the FDC leader got out of the vehicle and decided to walk but was again stopped by the police on the orders of DPC Arop.
//Cue in: “Bullets ..........
Cue out:.........in the vehicle.
Besigye was then forced back into his vehicle and escorted to Kitumba at the home of the FDC legal adviser, Wilfred Murrumba.
Lydia Turyahumura, the Kabale district FDC chairperson, accuses the police of provoking innocent civilians who only wanted to go through the town.
The opposition leaders had earlier re-launched the pressure group, FOR GOD AND CUNTRY (4GC) in Kabale stadium after months of silence. 4GC was launched two months ago as a successor to Activists for Change (A4C), a pressure group pushing for good governance in the country. A4C, with all its activities and membership, was however declared illegal by Attorney General Peter Nyombi.
During the rally, Kamppal Load Mayor Erias Lukwago criticized the NRM deputy caucus chairman David Bahati for condoning corrupt leaders such as Kabakumba Masko who was implicated in the disappearance of broadcast equipment belonging to Uganda Broadcasting Corporation (UBC).The other leaders mentioned include former ICT minister Alintuma Nsambu, who is said to have had a hand in the botched national identity card project in which government lost up to 200 billing shillings.
Lukwago asked the people of Ndorwa West to ask MP Bahati to account for openly condoning leaders who steal their taxes leaving them to suffer..
The region Police Spokesman, Elly Maate blamed the clashes on what he called indisciplined FDC youths who allegedly provoked policemen who were deployed outside the stadium.
