This archive report was first published on 8 September 2021.
Published on September 8, 2021, by AFP.
Ugandan police have charged two prominent opposition lawmakers with murder and attempted murder in connection with a wave of machete killings in the Masaka region.
MPs Muhammad Ssegirinya and Allan Sewanyana, both members of the National Unity Platform (NUP) led by popstar-turned-politician Bobi Wine, were charged in the Masaka magistrates court with three counts of murder and one of attempted murder.
Their lawyer, Elias Lukwago, branded the move as 'political persecution' by President Yoweri Museveni's military regime.
"They denied all the charges... this is political persecution by Museveni's military regime," Lukwago said.
Ugandan police spokesman Fred Enanga accused the MPs of orchestrating the attacks to cause fear in the population and hatred towards the government.
The two men belong to the opposition National Unity Platform (NUP) of popstar turned politician Bobi Wine, who challenged Yoweri Museveni in a disputed election in January.
Wine claimed the accusations were part of a plot by Museveni's government to vilify the opposition.
"When the president said recently (the) opposition was behind the killings we thought it was a bad joke. But when the police summoned our MPs, we knew the grand plan by (the) regime to implicate NUP leaders in the killings was being implemented," Wine said.
Residents in the Masaka region demanded that the government take more action to stop the marauding killers.
"As we mourn our relatives who have been killed, we live in fear of being killed by the machete-wielding gangs," said Sarah Kasujja, a small trader whose 81-year-old grandfather was among the victims.
