Museveni says foreign agents were planned very bad things and that protesters in custody will find out what they stepped on when their trial starts
President Museveni sounded an ominous massage about the fate of youth in custody over Tuesday's Anti-Corruption march to Parliament.
In an address given in a series of post on X, formerly Twitter, Mr Museveni thanked security forces for foiling the widely mobilised march and citizens who stayed away from it.
But he was ominous in discussion the fate of those arrested during the peaceful march, saying some of the organisers and participants were planning "very bad things" against the people of Uganda.
"Those very bad things will come out in court when those arrested are being tried," he said.
"It is possible, that some of the participants did not know of the planned foreign funding and the planned bad things. That is why they should have listened to the police advice, not to go on with the demonstration. But they rubbished the police advice."
Museveni's warning comes on the heels of the ongoing anti-corruption demonstrations which started on Tuesday and over 60 anti-graft crusaders have been jailed, facing prosecution for being "common nuisance, idle and disorderly."
On Thursday, security officers including soldiers and anti- riot police, some in camouflage uniforms, were still out in force to contain demonstrators as March to Parliament anti-graft protestors returned to Kampala streets.
Museveni said that "foreign forces were responsible for the youth-led demonstrations that have rocked the country.
He outlined the threats posed by the demonstration.
"That demonstration had two bad elements: funding from foreign sources that are always meddling in the internal affairs of Africa for the last 600 years - slave trade, colonialism, neo-colonialism, genocide, economic exploitation," he said.
Museveni identified two primary concerns with the planned protest.
The first, he claimed, was foreign funding from entities with a history of meddling in African affairs, including the slave trade, colonialism, neo-colonialism, genocide, and economic exploitation.
He stressed that Uganda would not fall victim to these "shallow schemes" and warned those involved to cease their activities.
"The second element was that some of the authors and participants of the demonstrations were planning very bad things against the people of Uganda," Museveni said.
He said that even the police who were charging those arrested with causing disorder and being a nuisance did not appear to know the gravity of the matter.
The President contrasted the failed protest with a past anti-corruption march in 2019 organised by Lt Col Edith Nakalema, head of the State House Anti-Corruption Unit.
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The march, which took place in Kampala, was coordinated with the police and proceeded peacefully, involving diverse participants, including bishops, soldiers, and citizens.
Museveni reiterated his stance against foreign-funded activities, urging those receiving such funds to report to the Minister of State for Ethics.
He reassured that there would be no arrests for reporting, as the government's primary concern is safeguarding Uganda against imperialist schemes.
The President expressed relief that Tuesday's events did not result in bloodshed and described the operation to prevent the demonstration as a high-quality, intelligence-led effort.
He emphasised his ongoing commitment to the fight against corruption and called on Ugandans to avoid those he referred to as "mistake makers."
