Ugandan Police Arrest Dozens of Opposition Activists

Police have arrested 56 people in Uganda on charges of “holding unlawful meetings,” they announced yesterday.

The arrests coincide with speculation that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni is planning to change the constitution so that he’ll be eligible for re-election in 2021.

As it stands, Uganda’s constitution states that presidential candidates must be younger than 75 to be eligible. Museveni, who has been in power for 31 years since 1986, will be 77 by the next election.

While Museveni has not publicly communicated any intent to run for another term, and the constitutional change just a rumour at this point, the opposition believes that the arrests are related.

Ingrid Turinawe of the Forum for Democratic Change, Uganda’s largest opposition party, said, “[The police] suspected the meetings were for opposing the age limit matter, which is why they stormed them…We fear our people are being tortured right now.”

Turinawe added that police have denied detainees access to lawyers or contact with relatives.

Allegedly, the activists were circulating a petition opposing the possible change to Uganda’s constitution.

Museveni has been accused of dictatorship and tyranny before. He took power in 1986 when his National Resistance Army ousted the previous regime. His government began allowing multi-party elections a decade later, but he has repeatedly found ways to stay in power.

In 2005, the constitution was changed to eliminate a two-term limit for presidents, which allowed Museveni to successfully run for a third term, in 2006.