Ugandan security forces detain protesters marching in Kampala

Ugandan security forces detained several young people on Tuesday in downtown Kampala who were taking part in a banned rally against what the protesters say are rampant corruption and human rights abuses by the country's rulers.

A Reuters witness saw the detentions being made, while a video posted by NTV Uganda on the X social media platform also showed a small group of young people being intercepted and detained by police while they were marching.

The protesters were holding placards and shouting slogans denouncing corruption. One wore a T-shirt bearing the words "Speaker Must Resign".

A police spokesman was not immediately available to say how many people had been detained.

Police has arrested protesters around the parliament. Security deployment is heavy. #March2Parliament #uganda pic.twitter.com/IMPBz7mWh0

— Sofi Lundin (@Sofilundin) July 23, 2024

Authorities banned the planned protest, citing intelligence they said showed criminally-minded youths might hijack it to loot and vandalise.

Parliament building cordoned off

Soldiers and police have been deployed around the parliament building and in the centre of the Ugandan capital to deter any protesters.

All roads to the parliament were blocked off, with only lawmakers and other parliamentary staff having access, and NTV Uganda images showed military armoured personnel carriers patrolling the area.

Ugandans with businesses near parliament were experiencing difficulty getting to their premises.

"It's like a war zone," Edwin Mugisha, who works in Kampala, told Reuters, referring to the military patrols.

On Monday police sealed off the offices of Uganda's biggest opposition party, accusing it of mobilising for the protests, and detained some party officials, including its lawmakers.

The party denied it was organising the march, but said it supported it.

Opposition leaders and rights activists say embezzlement and misuse of government funds are widespread in Uganda. They have long accused President Yoweri Museveni of failing to prosecute corrupt senior officials who are politically loyal or related to him.