Uganda’s main opposition leader has asked all citizens opposed to the leadership of his long-time political rival to don red ribbons on Tuesday, an awareness to signify discontent over efforts to amend the constitution to scrap age cap.
For a while now, Uganda is going through a tough political time after fist-fighting erupted in Parliament, main opposition leaders arrested, security organs raiding NGOs and the elderly voicing their concerns on the intentions of the regime to remove age limit law.
The ordinary citizens (peasants) whether illiterate or contrary perceive constitution review as a ploy for President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni to rule for life.
A section of opposition leaders deemed ‘uninfluential’ from Uganda’s oldest political establishment Democratic Party (DP) began a campaign dubbed Togikwatako (don’t dare) in which they protested ‘raping of the constitution’.
This unpopular campaign has however catapulted into a mass movement with a red ribbon as its symbol.
To the initiators who are mainly opposition legislators, wearing a red ribbon isn t limited to only political actors but all Ugandans who feel coerced by Museveni administration.
Top figures in the opposition including a four time presidential candidate Kizza Besigye weighed in on the red ribbon protest and he announced that he would revive the popular Work to Work to supplement on opposition MPs’ efforts to challenge revisiting of the constitution.
Besigye is among the makers of Uganda’s constitution of 1995.
He blames his political nemesis Museveni for abrogating the same constitution.
The Walk to Work protest was a popular uprising in which Besigye and his ilk challenged high prices on sugar and fuel in 2011.
The protests would later be declared illegal by the State and it’s superintendents have since been in and out of prison.
Besigye and other determined extremist groups have announced that Tuesday will be a busy day as security led by police warned of a severe crackdown.
Using some social media pages, the radicals posted pictures of miltary-like uniform which they will be dressed in.
Kampala Metropolitan Police (KMP) commander Frank Mwesigwa told the media that the force is on high alert to arrest whover will attempt to disrupt peace and destabilize business in the city centre with their protests.
While planning for what appears to be a showdown, many opposition leaders tend to beat security surveillance by not sleeping at their residences.
It remains unclear if these state opponents were at their homes by the time of filing this report.