By Kabuye Muawiya,
Police has today morning stopped the public debate on the East African Crude Oil pipeline (EACOP) which was organized by AIFE-Uganda together with opposition leaders Dr. Kizza Besigye and Hon. Robert Kyagulanyi.
According to report, by 5am in the morning the police together with the army had already surrounded Emerald hotel where the debate was going to take place blocking anyone from entering the premises.
Police later on reached out to the owners of the hotel asking for the letter from IGP allowing them to host the debate and what they were going to speak about.
After confirming that the organizers did not have the letter, police ordered them to stop any activity at hotel.
At around 9am, Dr. Kizza Besigye arrived at the hotel and was also stopped from accessing the premises. His car was surrounded by police vehicles to block him.
While speaking to journalists, Dr.Kizza Besigye said that it is so unfortunate that citizens in Uganda have no right to debate on their mineral resources like oil.
“Debating about crude oil in Uganda is like an offense, I was invited as a guest speaker on this debate but the police have denied me access to the hotel. They have also stopped the event and when I asked why are they doing so they just told me to go back,” Besigye said.
After few minutes, police decided to use a crane to pull Dr.Besigye’s car back to his offices at Katonga road.
By press time, the hotel has been closed and surrounded by police and military.
