Police Block Opposition EACOP Seminar
The police have blocked a public debate in Kampala organised by opposition politicians to discuss the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project.
The debate at Emerald Hotel in Wandegeya, Kampala was organized in partnership with the African Initiative on Food Security and Environment (AIFE-Uganda, a non-profit organization focusing on climate change mitigation.
Some of the key panelists who were expected to address the meeting were outspoken opposition leaders, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu alias Bobi Wine, the President of the National Unity Platform (NUP) and political activist Dr. Kizza Besigye.
However, police blocked the participants from accessing the venue. Speaking from his car, Dr. Besigye accused police of intimidation, insisting that they organized the meeting in accordance with the law.
Dr. Besigye faulted the police for looking on as Senior Presidential advisor on special operations, General Muhoozi, traverses the country for days undisturbed yet they were blocking an opposition indoor activity
However, the Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson, Patrick Onyango, said that the organizers did not follow the right procedures in conducting their event.
The debate coincides with another event in Buliisa district, in western Uganda where President Yoweri Museveni is launching oil drilling activities at the Kingfisher oil field.
