KAMPALA — Security personnel have on Sunday, April 19 arrested Mityana Municipality Member of Parliament Mr Francis Zaake over allegations that he was distributing food in breach of the presidential directives in response to the Coronavirus.
His arrest was confirmed by his lawyer and colleague MP Medard Lubega Seggona.
“Hon Francis Zaake has been been arrested from his residence in Mityana and taken to an unknown destination. Keep him in prayer,” MP Seggona said on Sunday night.
PML Daily earlier on Sunday, reported that a combined force that included military personnel and Police among others raided the MP Zaake’s home in Mityana in search of him on allegations that he flouted presidential directives.
“The tormentors have broken into my home, they are breaking every door of my house searching to arrest me for the crime of sharing food with the starving people. Sad!” Mr. Zaake wrote on his official social media pages before he was arrested.
The youthful MP has also posted photos of him distributing food door to door to vulnerable poor in his constituency.
“Helping others in times of need is not only good for the beneficiaries, but also it makes the giver happier and healthier,’ he wrote. “I have been clandestinely giving out relief food items to my constituents, this, I will not stop doing. In the same spirit, today we have successfully shared more food items with some households in Mityana Municipality.”
“It is my conviction that, we can still deal with starvation without thieving from the poor,” he added.
President Museveni outlawed politicians distributing relief and food items to the different communities in the country, saying such people pose danger of spreading infections to the public and would be “charged with attempted murder” before courts of law.
Mr. Museveni said that the measures his administration has put in place are aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus.
He warned “opportunistic politicians who distribute food to people for “cheap popularity” to stop doing so as they are putting the lives of people at risk of contracting the virus.
“Anybody found doing so will be arrested and charged with attempted murder,” Mr. Museveni warned.
