President Yoweri Museveni has given his account of the chaos that engulfed Arua town on Monday evening, leaving one dead.
According to the statement released by his Press Secretary, Don Wanyama today morning, the president scoffs that he fought for peace and won’t sit idly by watching people mess it up.
“We went to the bush to fight for the right of making political decisions by Ugandans without intimidation by word or action. Anybody who threatens this will have himself to blame,” Museveni writes.
From his recollection of the fateful evening, Museveni alleges that his convoy was attacked by opposition elements attached to MP hopeful Kassiano Wadri and Kyadondo East MP, Robert Kyagulanyi.
In the fracas, the rowdy youth in the procession threw stones at his convoy crashing the glass of one of the vehicles which “wasn’t armoured” but since his guards only had live bullets and are not trained in handling riots, the president says that they did not shoot.
“The stones they threw broke the rear glass window of the car where we transport luggage. That window glass is not armoured. There was no harm on the old man with a hat. My convoy did not react with fire in response to this attack. This was because we were not equipped for anti-riots. Our intervention could have resulted into people’s death because we only had live bullets,” reads part of the statement.
However, when the provocation continued after a grader was used to block the convoy from moving forward, stoning people who were coming from the NRM rally prompting his security to swing into action and it is in this scuffle that one person, Bobi Wine’s driver, was shot dead.
“Unfortunately, this crowd, with a tinga tinga (a grader), apparently continued to the town where they attacked people who were coming from the NRM rally. They injured quite a number of people with stones. It was in those scuffles that one of the attackers was shot dead,” he further notes.
Without offering any apologies or condolences, Museveni blames the fracas on the “weak management by the police and the criminal behaviour of some of the Opposition leaders.”
“Why take supporters in processions through congested streets? The legal thing is to go for the rally at the agreed venue and, after the rally, everybody disperses to his/her home.”
The president notes that some leaders have been acting with impunity and it has caused the death of one in Bugiri and, now, one person in Arua.
“These acts are strongly rejected and will be punished according to the law. Anybody who organizes such groups is responsible for their misconduct. Processions are illegal and the NRM leaders should not be part of them because they inconvenience the public, he adds.