Busia municipality MP arrested

HEALTH  VIRUS

Busia Municipality Member of Parliament, Geoffrey Macho has been arrested over inciting market vendors to defy government's standard operation procedures.

Macho was arrested Saturday while leading a group of market vendors to go and illegally open the border market serving both Uganda and Kenya. The government closed the market in question as a preventive measure in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

The market was closed following infiltrations by Kenyan businessmen who kept on sneaking into the country through the porous border to purchase the produce from the market.

The police dispersed the vendors and Macho was driven to Tororo central police station.

The Bukedi regional police commander Julius Caesar Tusingwire confirmed the arrest saying Macho was transferred to Tororo central police station where he is being held to allow investigations into the matter.

"It's true we have arrested him and investigations into the matter have commenced. We shall immediately arraign him in court once the investigations are complete" Tusingwire said.

Last week, while deliberating in parliament, Macho asked the Prime Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda to allow the market vendors in Busia market to open up their business to avoid losses since most of their produce was rotting following its closure.

He then went on to mobilize all the traders under his lead to reopen the market without the government's authorization.