Uganda: Arrest of dozens for attending peaceful meetings is absurd

Responding to the Ugandan police’s announcement that they have arrested 56 people for allegedly holding illegal meetings under the deeply-flawed Public Order Management Act (POMA), Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East Africa, the Horn and the Great Lakes, said:

“The Ugandan police are no strangers to making arrests in utter disregard for constitutionally-guaranteed rights, but this most recent case is patently absurd. These 56 individuals are guilty of nothing more than attending a peaceful meeting. They should be released immediately and unconditionally.

“The Public Order Management Act is deeply flawed and has previously been used by the police to crack down on the opposition and civil society. This latest mass arrest is no exception.”

The police did not specify what these individuals were discussing, but opposition activists say the arrests are linked to ongoing attempts to drop age limits from the constitution and allow President Yoweri Museveni, 72, to run for a sixth term in 2021. The current age limit to run for president is 75 years.