Uganda protesters refuse to bow to official threats

Organizers and participants of a planned march against corruption on Tuesday haven taken to social media to say that they will see their planned protests through regardless of warnings by police and President Yoweri Museveni.

One of them is journalist and activist Makana Kennedy Ndyamuhaki, who posted on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter): "We're not intimidated! We stand firm for our rights 2 #March2Parliament to assert our freedom & demand accountability!"

Another is influencer Uwera Lyndah, who tweeted that she was going to march on parliament because she felt "tired of being a coward."

Ugandan human rights lawyer and environmentalist Eron Kiiza told DW that the calls for protest come in response to "rampant corruption in parliament which has been exposed over the last six months or so by both social and the legacy media."

"Young people have … decided to take to the streets leading to parliament to complain about this corruption," added Kiiza, who is also a signatory of an open letter published on Sunday which underlines Ugandans' constitutional right to demonstrate.

Protesters warned they're 'playing with fire'

That open letter was published a day after Museveni warned protesters in a televised address to the nation that they were "playing with fire."

"Some elements have been planning illegal demonstrations, riots," Museveni said late on Saturday.

Kiiza stressed, however, that despite the presidential disapproval, the right to peaceful protest is anchored in Uganda's constitution.

"It doesn't hinge on opinion, whims or wishes of any leader in Uganda. So people who really want to peacefully protest, they don't need any permission, and they cannot be banned from doing so," he told DW.

"We take note of the presidential opinion, but it is not the law."

NUP headquarters blocked off

Uganda's police force also restated on Monday its warning that the mobilization campaign should stop calling for the occupation of the streets of the capital, Kampala.

Roads leading to the Kampala headquarters of the main opposition party, the National Unity Platform (NUP), have reportedly now been blocked by security personnel ahead of Tuesday's protests.

In posts on X, NUP leader Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, said the military had surrounded the headquarters, barring anyone from entering or exiting.

Wine added that his party was not organizing Tuesday's protests, but that it supported them.

Influence of Kenyan protests

Many commentators see Uganda's planned protest as partly sparked by the continuing demonstrations in neighboring Kenya, which were originally organized in response to proposed tax hikes but have evolved into a movement now calling for the government of Kenya's President William Ruto to step down.

"We can't rule out the influence because in both countries, young people are taking the lead," said human rights lawyer Kiiza.

"The regimes are different. In Kenya, there is a relative democracy. Here, there is mostly military dictatorship. So, the contexts are different, and the issues are different, but they kind of feed off the Kenyan energy."

Corruption in the spotlight for months

Human Rights Watch senior researcher Oryem Nyeko, who covers Uganda, agrees that the Kenyan protests "definitely inspired" the call for Tuesday's rally in Uganda, but says it's important to note that anger over corruption had been simmering in Uganda for much longer.

"I think there's a recognition that [Kenya's protests] worked in that context," he said. "There's a recognition that you have to do something in order to achieve results and that's why, I think, these people are now taking this step."

"But it didn't just sort of bubble up in the past few weeks."

Museveni has long been accused of shielding corrupt but influential government officials from criminal prosecution.

The social media campaign #UgandaParliamentExhibition, which was launched in February 2024, laid bare the abuse of public funds, irregular expenditure, nepotism and corruption in the parliament.

The posts focused in particular on Parliament Speaker Anita Among, an influential member of the ruling party, who was criticized for allegedly collecting huge sums in allowance spending on foreign travel, including trips that did not happen.

The revelations in the East African nation, which ranks 141 out of 180 countries on the 2023 corruption perceptions index, sparked outrage and demands for reforms for months.

A long history of repression

Taking government criticism from social media to the streets is a significant step in a country known for its authoritarian leadership.

Under Museveni, who has ruled the country for 38 years, Uganda has descended into a repressive state with a long history of intimidation, harassment, arbitrary arrests, detention and torture of those who are critical of the government.

"We see some criticism in the media and social media of the government but there are many ways in which you can't express disagreement with how the country is being run," Human Rights Watch researcher Nyeko told DW.

"One of those is through protests that have historically been cracked down on, particularly by the security forces. I think the government, and Museveni in particular, is very sensitive to the idea of people mobilizing in large numbers."

Uganda's security forces have also faced numerous allegations of brutality towards critics of the government.

In 2020, Ugandan security forces used lethal force against protesters demonstrating against the arrest of Bobi Wine, killing 54 and leaving scores injured.

"Some people will be too scared to protest," Eron Kiiza said.

"Make no mistake, the president is feared, the police is feared because of their history. But there are also people who will be brave and see through those threats and insist on their peaceful protest."

Edited by: Sertan Sanderson