By Joan Tendo
Police sprayed tear gas to disperse over 600 people who had gathered at former Vice President, Prof Gilbert Bukenya’s home in Kakiri, Wakiso district on Thursday this week.
“Prof. Bukenya used taxis to ferry people without following the Ministry of Health guidelines of carrying half capacity. We all know taxis are supposed to carry half capacity but this guideline was totally violated,” SP Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan Police Spokesperson said in a statement.
According to Onyango, the rally was a purely political, because the supporters had campaign posters reading vote Prof. Gilbert Bukenye for MP 2021-2026.
“We talked to him to abandon the idea but he refused. We deployed in and around his home to deter him from engaging in illegal activities.
According to police, the ‘disrespectful former VP’ then shifted his plan and rally to Masulita, which the police foiled again.
“We went to Masulita and found people gathering and we had to disperse them using tear gas. We impounded three of his taxis that were ferrying people without observing the set guidelines of half the capacity of the vehicle,”
Political gatherings were in March this year banned by the head of State, as one of the measures of combating the spread of coronavirus.