KAMPALA – Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, aka Bobi Wine, has laughed off President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s swaggering that he ordered the closure of facebook in Uganda.
Speaking in Kampala on Saturday, Kyagulanyi, the president of the National Unity Platform – NUP political party said it was surprising that the leader of a country didn’t know that despite the official closure of facebook, Ugandans including his government officials were actually enjoying its services.
While speaking to senior journalists and editors at State House – Nakasero on Friday, President Museveni said he had closed facebook as a way of teaching the managers of the biggest social media platform a lesson to stop their arrogance.
Museveni explained that they were forced to close facebook because the US based firm had suspended the accounts of his people, who were countering the opposition narrative at the height of the campaigns leading to the 2021 General Elections.
“We told them; if you don’t want the owner of the home, you show it by walking out. They said, how can Uganda chase facebook? We told them – we are going to chase facebook and you will see. Facebook has been chased for two years; when I ask; are the boda bodas moving, they say they are moving; what about the taxis; they are also moving. When I ask is matooke coming to town, they say it is coming what about the milk; they say it’s also coming. So, everything is moving even when facebook is closed.
“I hope facebook now knows who is in charge of Uganda. If they stop playing their games, we shall open them up,” said Museveni, as none of his multitudes of advisor could tell him – how the official closure remained on paper.
And Kyagulanyi said it surprises him that the President has never heard of Virtual Private Networks – VPN that enable users to bypass any restrictions to access the internet.
Kyagulanyi also castigated President Museveni for saying he wasn’t aware of any tortures or abductions of people for their political beliefs. He said that the President should take responsibility for the actions of his people in the armed forces who have been accused of human rights violations including torture and illegal arrests.
While handing over Christmas gifts to families whose people were imprisoned, disappeared, or killed in relation to politics, Kyagulanyi said as a party they will stand with these families to demand justice for their people.
He called upon these families to accept the little contributions to their welfare that the party is extending to them in the current economic hardships.
For his part, David Lewis Rubongoya, the NUP Secretary General castigated the minister of Internal Affairs Maj Gen Kahinda Otafiire for saying that the people who gave testimonies of torture at a human rights conference in Kenya were actually accident victims.
Speaking days after the human right meeting that took place last month in Nairobi Kenya, Otafiire asked the Police to investigate the witnesses with the view of charging all those who claimed that they had been tortured whereas not.
While responding to Otafire, Rubongoya read out a long list of names of some of the party members who had either been tortured, arrested, or killed.
Ali Bukeni alias Nubian Li, the head of entertainment in NUP called upon the party supporters to boycott the businesses of all those who back government excesses.
He said that even during this festive season, their supporters should stay away from music concerts of artists who back oppression.
