This archive report was first published on 4 December 2019.
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's anti-corruption walk on Wednesday, December 4, 2019, was met with skepticism by opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye, who attempted to counter the president's efforts with a parallel march.
However, police blocked Dr. Besigye's car and towed it back to his home, effectively thwarting his plans.
According to Daily Monitor, Dr. Besigye had left his home, which was previously under police siege, to participate in the parallel march after President Museveni marched to Kololo in one of his efforts to stamp out corruption that has cost the country billions of shillings.
Police spokesperson Mr. Patrick Onyango claimed that they were trying to contain the traffic in the city, but would provide more details about the matter at a later time.
“You know the traffic in the city is too bad. We are trying to contain it. Let me find out more information about the subject and I will get back to you,” Mr. Onyango said.
Ironically, earlier on several roads leading to and outside the city centre were sealed off and cars restricted as President Museveni marched to Kololo.
Several people were seen walking to work as they were caught unawares by the traffic restrictions, while motorists on several roads around the city were also seen stranded in traffic jams for hours.
Dr. Besigye later described President Museveni's anti-corruption walk as a 'parade of the most corrupt Ugandans.'
“What's happening today is a good demonstration of a captive state because you saw that the city was surrounded by gunmen ensuring that whatever they want to happen is what happens,” Dr. Besigye was quoted by Daily Monitor.
“Today, we have a demonstration of the corrupt, headed by the chief corrupt person, Mr. Museveni himself. It's the parade of the corrupt. What we wanted to do was to precisely label them to show who they were. To show that these were the problem. Unfortunately, they have succeeded in blocking the whole city,” Dr. Besigye further said.
