Police in Gulu have arrested two National Unity Platform (NUP) youth leaders over allegations of planned protests against the first regional Parliamentary sittings in Gulu city, which are expected to kick off tomorrow.
The suspects were picked from the party’s regional offices in Pece-Laroo Division in Gulu city this morning. Police identified the suspects as Samuel Okello Sebbi aka Sebasrian Ongoni 30, the NUP mobilizer and Brian Jakisa Mungu 32, NUP coordinator in charge of Acholi Sub region.
According to Aswa West Police Spokesperson David Ongom Mudong, the suspects were in possession of placards with inciting messages against the sittings. He also noted that the suspects arrest was also largely motivated by an old case in which they had been accused of committing assault and incitement of violence but had been on the run.
Mudong said the suspects will appear in court on charges that have already been sanctioned by the state attorney while the new charges are still under police investigation.
National Unity Platform (NUP) Spokesperson Ceaser Lubangane says the arrests are politically motivated since NUP has been against these sittings from day one.
“We have been very clear from day one on our position. We don’t agree with this wastage of tax payer’s money. The actions taken by police undermine the principles of democracy, freedom of expression, and assembly.” He noted.
Meanwhile, political analyst Godber Tumushabe questioned the motive behind the sittings describing them as redundant because parliament seems to have abandoned its agenda adding that at a political strategic level, it’s an extension of President Museveni’s campaign for the 2026 General Elections.
“If you’re a parliament sitting in any part of the country, I don’t understand how you get the President acting like another MP. In terms of the legal framework, the only time when the President addresses Parliament is during the State of Nation Address or if there’s some emergency. I don’t see why the President should go to Gulu to address Parliament. What is his interest because he’s not an MP?” He noted while appearing on a political talk show this morning on one of the local TV stations.
He added that the sittings are also a demonstration that Parliament has failed at its mandate which among others is to pass laws for good governance, scrutinize government policies and assuring transparency, accountability in application of public funds and monitoring the implementation of government programs and projects among others.
“Actually what the sittings are doing is to show that the structure of Parliament that we have with all these MP’s and a multitude of them have failed to bring the issues of people to Parliament for debate and resolution and now the Parliament has to go to the people themselves. All this for me is a good strategy by the president to do his campaigns because this is what he has been doing, he basically creates formal processes where he uses taxi payers money to be able to campaign.”
The regional sittings which will sit in four regions-Northern, Eastern, Central and Western continue to attract criticism from a section of Ugandans who describe it as unnecessary and a burden to the tax payers. Some NRM legislators are however calling upon the outraged public to objectively examine the spirit within which the idea was fronted which is to have a people centered Parliament.
Ms. Teddy Namayanja is a staff writer at SML News UG passionate about politics, Law & Order and Human Rights