At least 13 members of the National Unity Platform-NUP and its leaders were detained on Sunday for holding an unauthorized gathering at the Jinja city YMCA convention centre.
The NUP young leaders had gathered to go over their activities, and Ben Kabaka, the Iganga District NUP Coordinator, was leading the group.
However, two masked police officers barged in and told them that their gathering was illegal in vain.
Before being taken into custody, Kabaka informed reporters that they had spoken with Kiira region police about their planned event, but he was astonished by their response.
Kabaka maintained that they shouldn’t have to leave the property without first hearing from the police.
The Field Force Unit-FFU members stormed the location and used tear gas to disperse the NUP leaders when they refused to leave the conference facility.
However, some of the young leaders chose to remain in place, which caused police to apprehend them and take them to Jinja Central Police Station where they are being investigated.
A Benz with the license plate UAH 996F and a coaster with the plate UAZ 918B were also seized by authorities, and they were towed to the Nalufenya police parking lot.
James Mubi, a spokesman for the Kiira regional police, confirmed the arrest and stated that investigators were examining the defendants’ files in preparation for their trial.
