The Minister of Security, Gen Elly Tumwine has said that the police and other security personnel have a right to kill protesters if they are attacked.
Speaking to reporters at the Uganda Media Centre in Kampala, Gen Tumwine said that he had no apologies for anybody who was killed while attacking security forces as they tried to put down protests that broke out on Wednesday and Thursday this week.
Tumwine said that government will not look on as political actors supported by unnamed foreign forces are disrupting the peace. He said that although they commiserate with families that lost loved ones in the two days of running battles between the security forces and supporters of National Unity Platform, Robert Kyagulanyi, violence normally leads to deaths and destruction.
He added that nobody is exempted from arrest and that Robert Kyagulanyi (Bobi Wine) is neither the first Presidential candidate to be arrested nor is he the last. One person’s arrest doesn’t justify the deaths of innocent people, vandalizing of property and causing chaos in the city, he said.
“The best way to avoid being arrested is to avoid criminality. If you are a boxer and you go in the ring and they beat you hard, do you complain?” the Minister told reporters on Friday.
“We are aware some people have been training and misleading young people on how to attack Police. Get out of that because whoever is training you on this is putting your life at great risk”.
“I heard someone say they are stronger and have more numbers than the Police. The peace-loving Ugandans are the majority. Those who want to disrupt are very few and therefore can’t sustain it”.
The Minister warned Ugandans against supporting elements who are advancing foreign interests, saying this will only serve the interests of these foreign powers and turn Uganda into Libya.
“We have evidence that most of these people are agents of foreign forces who want to destabilize African counties for their own interests. For someone who is contesting to lead Uganda, are you admiring what has happened in Libya and other countries? What a shame,” Tumwine said.
“How come refugees are coming to Uganda from all the other countries and not viceversa? We have been receiving refugees from that hard won peace that we must preserve”. We shall change tactics according to the situation. We have moved from the teargas to the batons. In 2 hours, the town was clean because it was direct to the culprits”.
Tumwine said that they have evidence to show that what happened in the country was premeditated by political leaders to try and overthrow President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s government. He noted that such people aim at making Uganda ungovernable like some countries such as Libya.
“How can you wish that Uganda breaks up? But I can assure you that Uganda will not be destabilized. They have openly demonstrated that they are just people who want to destabilize, burn the city, cause violence, cause death, this is who they are,” Tumwine said.
On Wednesday and Thursday, several towns especially in the Central region erupted in chaos after learning of the arrest of Kyagulanyi in the eastern region district of Luuka.