SOROTI — Police have warned Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) members in eastern Uganda to desist from holding their planned anti-age limit bill demonstration in Teso subregion.
PML Daily understands that FDC members in Teso are planning to hold what party insiders have described as “a mega demonstration in Soroti against plans to amend the constitution by repealing clauses under Article 102 to allow President Museveni run for re-election in 2021 when he is past the current constitutional age limit of 75.
By Tuesday sources in the main opposition party said that although no official statement has been sent out on the date the demonstration will take place.
However, John Enomu, the Soroti FDC chairman and Soroti Municipality MP, could not return our repeated calls for an official comment on the development
On Monday, a high-profile security meeting was held in Soroti Resident District Commissioner’s office with the matters discussed still being kept secret.
East Kyoga Police Spokesman Michael Odongo would, however, later say the security meeting stemmed from utterances by a section of FDC leaders on local radio stations calling upon their supporters to demonstrate against what they called “impunity by NRM party.”
Speaking to this news website by telephone on Tuesday, Odongo said Police are on standby to quell any illegal demonstration that will be held anywhere in Teso region.
Quoting the Public Order Management law, Odongo said the Police are yet to get any written request from anybody seeking to hold a demonstration.
“We have information that the opposition in Soroti is going to hold the demonstration against the age limit bill but we are not going to allow them unless they have sought permission from the Inspector General of Police and he cleared them,” Odongo said.
The Constitutional Amendment Bill has recently generated public debate since The Observer quoted the Minister for Constitutional Affairs Kahinda Otafiire as saying “the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2017 awaits to be published in The Uganda Gazette before it can come to parliament for debate.”
However, on Tuesday, Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga asked legislators to cease participating in all talks related to age limit, saying there was no such a bill.