A group of youth have been planning a peaceful march against corruption to Parliament on July 23.
The founding executive director of Uganda Media Centre, Mr Robert Kabushenga, has warned the police - and by extension the government he once served with her heart on his sleeves - that refusing to engage the youth who are seeking peaceful means to fight corruption could end up in anarchy.
A group of youth have been planning a peaceful march against corruption to Parliament on July 23.
But Police have said they will not allow planned march to Parliament by anti-corruption crusaders.
However, sharing his thoughts on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Kabushenga posted an anthesis of scenarios, warning that refusal to engage the current rational thoughts in the youth would only create radical anarchists.
"You refused dialogue with the opposition, you have ended up with NUP," Mr Kabushenga, also the former chief executive of the State-owned Vision Group, said.
The Uganda Media Centre that was founded with Kabushenga as director is the government's communication incubation place.
After leading the New Vision into a media empire, Kabushenga retired into farming in early 2021 into farming and has since then brought the 'gang' he was in his early communication years moderating the political radio talk-show, Capital Gang.
The trained lawyer has been critical of corruption in government and by individuals and advocates for constitutionalism and rule of law.
Adding to his antithesis, he said: "You sidelined progressive forces, you have ended up with sycophants, you undermined experienced legislators, now you have Zaake."
Francis Zaake is Mityana Municipality MP who has often courted controversy.
In using his name, Mr Kabushenga appeared to be stapling down a symbolism for the current calibre of the 11th Parliament that is criticised for having low-grade legislators.
"You asked for sleeping MPs who wake up to vote, now we have a house of thieves, you deployed cadres now you are stuck with a dysfunctional public service... and this story will go on with these kinds of choices."
The planned anti-corruption march,led by the quartet of Praise Aloikin Opoloje, Cynthia Nakato, George Victor Otieno and Kennedy Ndyamuhaki, comes after President Museveni vowed to fill Luzira with the corrupt.
Mr Museveni and his ministers have said corruption is wrong and called on all well-meaning Ugandans to fight it.
"Fighting corruption is not as difficult as people may think. You'll see in the coming days how we're going to cause a lot of casualties. By the time we run out of space in Luzira, people will have lost appetite for corruption," Museveni told the nation during a televised address in January 2024.
Last week, Major-General Kahinda Otafiire, the internal affairs minister, called upon the youth to stand up and put an end to the poor leadership in the country filled with corruption to avoid longevity of a sorry state for the generations to come.
"Tell us sorry, enough is enough you have to stop here," the minister, who was speaking as the chief guest at the 29th graduation ceremony of Kampala International University, said.
"Do not allow people to tell you, we are stealing on your behalf. Leaders do not steal, we do not elect leaders to steal."
In Parliament, legislators leading the censure of the four Commissioners of Parliament over the Shs1.7 billion 'service award' have welcomed the planned protest and asked Speaker Anita Among to be present to receive their petition like she did, when residents of Sembabule were allowed to enter Parliament to present a petition against their MP Theodore Ssekikubo.
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Addressing journalists at Parliament on Friday, the MPs demanded a report on how "goons" disguised as electorate from Sembabule were allowed inside Parliament yet 34-year-old Fatuma Nansubuga was arrested and remanded to Luzira prison for staging a lone protest outside Parliament.
"The President himself said that the citizens of Uganda must rise up against corruption," said Padyere County MP Isaac Otimgiu.
"So the march is simply a response to the calling of the President, people should be allowed to march peacefully, and they should also be allowed to enter parliament like the previous matches.
"They are simply using their right to match and I hope that Police will give them ample security on July 23."
