MITYANA - Tension gripped Mityana Municipality on Monday as security forces mounted heavy deployment across the town, restricting National Unity Platform (NUP) president Robert Kyagulanyi from accessing the municipal center for his much-anticipated Buganda regional campaign rally.
By dawn, police and army personnel had taken control of major streets, roundabouts, and junctions.
Armored patrol trucks with flashing lights lined the main routes into Mityana town, creating an atmosphere that residents described as unusually tense.
"Everywhere you turned, there was a soldier or a police officer," said Ivan Ssentongo, a boda boda rider in Mityana.
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"We haven't seen such a heavy deployment here in years. It felt like a lockdown."
According to security officials, the decision to block Kyagulanyi from holding a rally in the town center was meant to maintain peace and avoid disrupting local businesses.
"We have deployed strategically to ensure public order," said Prossy Mwanjuzi, the Deputy Resident Commissioner of Mityana.
"Our goal is to protect everyone -- both supporters and non-supporters -- so that business and normal life continue without interruption."
Despite the restrictions, pockets of commercial activity persisted. Street vendors openly sold NUP-branded red berets, T-shirts bearing Kyagulanyi's portrait, and Ugandan flags, drawing enthusiastic supporters who said they had traveled to show solidarity with the opposition leader.
As midday rain began to fall, security officers remained unmoved, taking shelter under patrol trucks and trees as they continued to monitor the town.
Locals huddled in small groups under shop verandas, whispering about whether Kyagulanyi would make it into town.
Some residents accused authorities of stifling political freedoms.
"They say it's for peace, but this feels like control," said Ronald Kato, a vendor in Mityana Municipality.
The Deputy RDC confirmed that seven key access routes into the town had been manned by joint security teams to direct campaign traffic along designated routes and prevent potential clashes or congestion.
"We had agreed on the designated routes to be used, but Kyagulanyi chose to act otherwise," she said.
Later in the day, despite the restrictions, Kyagulanyi managed to hold a rally at Busuubizi Playground, on the outskirts of Mityana.
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Thousands of cheering supporters -- many waving NUP flags and chanting "People Power" -- welcomed him as he addressed them under heavy rain.
The day ended without major incidents, though tension lingered as both security officers and supporters maintained a cautious watch over each other.
