By staff Reporter/ Kampala, Uganda / October 2, 2019
Kyambogo University was turned into a scene of chaos and panic today as police and military officers violently dispersed a student protest, arresting several demonstrators including Rona Byamuka, a prominent female student leader and vocal supporter of the recently impeached Guild President, Jonathan Tundulu.
The protest, which began peacefully around 11:00am, was organized by a section of students opposing the impeachment process, which they say was politically influenced and undemocratic. Demonstrators carried placards reading “Respect Our Vote,” “Say No to Dictatorship,” and “Hands Off Tundulu.” Witnesses say the demonstrators had barely gathered at the university’s East End when police and plainclothes operatives moved in with tear gas and rubber bullets.
“It was supposed to be a peaceful march around campus to express our dissatisfaction with how student leadership is being manipulated. But before we even spoke, tear gas canisters were flying,” said one student, who declined to be named.
Amid the confusion, several student leaders were arrested, with Rona Byamuka,—a third-year Arts and Social Sciences student—targeted directly by plainclothes officers who dragged her away near the Guild offices. Video footage captured by students shows her screaming as she is forced into an unmarked vehicle.
“They went straight for her. She wasn’t throwing stones or shouting. She was just holding a placard and encouraging others to remain calm. They treated her like a criminal,” said Michael Nsubuga, a fellow student activist.
Sources within the student leadership say Byamuka had been under informal surveillance for months due to her open allegiance to the People Power movement, the political precursor to the National Unity Platform (NUP). She was widely recognized as one of the key student mobilizers behind Tundulu’s historic victory earlier in the year and is believed to have played a major role in organizing grassroots campaigns on campus.
“Rhonah is a brave soul. Her only crime is speaking truth to power,” said one of her lecturers, who asked not to be named for fear of administrative reprisals. “This government is extending its repression to universities, and it’s terrifying.”
By press time, Rhonah had been detained at Jinja Road Police Station, along with three other student leaders. According to early reports from human rights lawyers attempting to reach her, police had refused to allow legal access and had not formally stated the charges.
The arrest has sparked outrage among students and civil society actors.
“This is the state using its iron fist to crush dissent—even in spaces where young people should be free to organize and express themselves,” said Sarah Kanyange, a human rights lawyer with Defend Democracy Uganda (DDU).
Meanwhile, her parents in Kabale District say they were informed of the arrest via a phone call from fellow students.
“I spoke to my daughter just this morning. She was excited about standing up for her rights. Now she’s behind bars, and we don’t even know what they plan to do with her,” said her distraught father, Mr. Stephen Byamuka.
“Is this the Uganda we want—where our children are hunted for speaking the truth?” added Mrs. Jane Byamuka, breaking down in tears. “I’m scared for my daughter. I know what they do to girls in those cells.”
The National Unity Platform has issued a brief statement calling for her immediate and unconditional release and accusing security agencies of “harassment and intimidation of young voices demanding accountability and fairness.”
As of late evening, the university remains under heavy security presence, and students have been ordered to vacate certain areas of campus “for safety reasons.”
This is a developing story.
Filed Under: Student Protests | Political Repression | Human Rights
Tags: #KyambogoProtest #RhonahByamuka #NUPYouth #PeoplePower #UgandaPoliceViolence
