Besigye, 48 others injured in demos
Apr 14, 2011
FORUM for Democratic Change president Kizza Besigye was shot in the hand as the army halted a procession from Wakiso district to Kampala.
By Herbert Ssempogo
FORUM for Democratic Change president Kizza Besigye was shot in the hand as the army halted a procession from Wakiso district to Kampala.
Uganda Red Cross Society said 48 other people were injured as the Police and the army fought running battles with the demonstrators in Kampala, Wakiso and other districts.
But there was no disruption of business in the Kampala city centre, although traffic was conspicuously low.
Besigye, the architect of the “walk-to-work†demonstration against rising commodity and fuel prices, was injured on the right hand as thousands of people scampered after military police fired tear gas.
A medical official at Kampala Hospital, who preferred anonymity, told New Vision that Besigye sustained a fracture between the third and fourth finger.
During the fracas, the military Police, armed with tear gas canisters, batons and guns, accosted Besigye’s supporters at Wampewo on Gayaza Road.
The supporters then fled as Besigye, who seemed to be in pain, sat by the roadside holding the injured hand.
Besigye’s minders alleged that he used his hand as a shield when one of the security personnel fired a bullet.
A Uganda Red Cross Society ambulance whisked him to Kampala Hospital in Kololo, a city suburb. Besigye told reporters he may have been hit by a rubber bullet.
Just like on Monday when a similar walk was stopped, today’s walk started with Besigye walking from his home early in the morning.
But when he reached Kasangati trading centre, security operatives blocked him. In turns, senior police officers asked him leave but he instead stood in a trench where his minders surrounded him.
As the crowd of supporters grew, the Police fired tear gas to disperse them. As the rioters fled, they threw stones. One of the stones hit a New Vision photojournalist, Arthur Kintu and destroyed his camera.
In a repeat of a Monday incident, a tear gas canister fell near a health facility, affecting patients. About five people were arrested during the running battles.
Almost an hour later, the supporters gradually returned where Besigye stood. Waving his posters, and chanting pro-Buganda Kingdom songs, they blocked the highway with big stones at several points.
“Prices of all products have gone up. We cannot take care of our families and when we express our grievances, you come with tear gas. One day you are going to pay for this,†one of the protesters told the Police officers.
“I cannot believe you threw tear gas canisters at a health facility. Patients are suffering without drugs yet you people are throwing tear gas at them,†another supporter shouted.
In the afternoon, Besigye, followed by hundreds of supporters, relocated to a shade under a tree. Moments later, he got up and walked for over 500 metres up to Wampewo, where he was blocked by the military police.
Addressing journalists at the hospital, Besigye said: “We have a regime hell-bent on ruling by terror and violating the people’s rights. Our protest does not call for any assembly or gathering. We are walking to show solidarity with the people who are suffering.â€
People’s welfare, Besigye said, had hit an all-time low yet the government was “spending recklessly to sustain itselfâ€. He cited failure to prosecute officials who squandered funds during the CHOGM summit as one of its shortfalls.
“We have a regime that has lost legitimacy to govern. That is why they are stopping us,†he said, adding that they would not relent.
Police deputy spokesperson Vincent Ssekate said residents who blocked traffic and hurled stones, compelled them to use tear gas.
FORUM for Democratic Change president Kizza Besigye was shot in the hand as the army halted a procession from Wakiso district to Kampala.
Uganda Red Cross Society said 48 other people were injured as the Police and the army fought running battles with the demonstrators in Kampala, Wakiso and other districts.
But there was no disruption of business in the Kampala city centre, although traffic was conspicuously low.
Besigye, the architect of the “walk-to-work†demonstration against rising commodity and fuel prices, was injured on the right hand as thousands of people scampered after military police fired tear gas.
A medical official at Kampala Hospital, who preferred anonymity, told New Vision that Besigye sustained a fracture between the third and fourth finger.
During the fracas, the military Police, armed with tear gas canisters, batons and guns, accosted Besigye’s supporters at Wampewo on Gayaza Road.
The supporters then fled as Besigye, who seemed to be in pain, sat by the roadside holding the injured hand.
Besigye’s minders alleged that he used his hand as a shield when one of the security personnel fired a bullet.
A Uganda Red Cross Society ambulance whisked him to Kampala Hospital in Kololo, a city suburb. Besigye told reporters he may have been hit by a rubber bullet.
Just like on Monday when a similar walk was stopped, today’s walk started with Besigye walking from his home early in the morning.
But when he reached Kasangati trading centre, security operatives blocked him. In turns, senior police officers asked him leave but he instead stood in a trench where his minders surrounded him.
As the crowd of supporters grew, the Police fired tear gas to disperse them. As the rioters fled, they threw stones. One of the stones hit a New Vision photojournalist, Arthur Kintu and destroyed his camera.
In a repeat of a Monday incident, a tear gas canister fell near a health facility, affecting patients. About five people were arrested during the running battles.
Almost an hour later, the supporters gradually returned where Besigye stood. Waving his posters, and chanting pro-Buganda Kingdom songs, they blocked the highway with big stones at several points.
“Prices of all products have gone up. We cannot take care of our families and when we express our grievances, you come with tear gas. One day you are going to pay for this,†one of the protesters told the Police officers.
“I cannot believe you threw tear gas canisters at a health facility. Patients are suffering without drugs yet you people are throwing tear gas at them,†another supporter shouted.
In the afternoon, Besigye, followed by hundreds of supporters, relocated to a shade under a tree. Moments later, he got up and walked for over 500 metres up to Wampewo, where he was blocked by the military police.
Addressing journalists at the hospital, Besigye said: “We have a regime hell-bent on ruling by terror and violating the people’s rights. Our protest does not call for any assembly or gathering. We are walking to show solidarity with the people who are suffering.â€
People’s welfare, Besigye said, had hit an all-time low yet the government was “spending recklessly to sustain itselfâ€. He cited failure to prosecute officials who squandered funds during the CHOGM summit as one of its shortfalls.
“We have a regime that has lost legitimacy to govern. That is why they are stopping us,†he said, adding that they would not relent.
Police deputy spokesperson Vincent Ssekate said residents who blocked traffic and hurled stones, compelled them to use tear gas.