Police on Monday morning used pepper spray on a group of people who had come to Col Dr Kizza Besigye’s residence in Kasangati, among them two infants.
The police officers, who have for the last month laid siege at the opposition strongman’s house, reportedly had a misunderstanding with occupants of one the cars that pulled up at the residence.
The car was reportedly cleared at the first check point but later blocked at the second on which officers unleashed pepper spray on the passengers that included three mothers and two young children.
One of the victims Ingrid Turinawe, who is also FDC’s secretary for mobilization told Chimpreports that the visitors were relatives of Col Besigye who traveled from his home district of Rukungiri to hold a church service at his Kasangati home.
In the service, she said, the two pepper sprayed toddlers were to be baptized; a function that was organized as part of the Easter Celebrations.
“We were nearly blinded by the policemen,” she said. “The children are not in a good condition at the moment.”
Meanwhile, the church reverends that were supposed to lead the service were not allowed to proceed to Kampala.
They together with another group of more than seventy people who were traveling in two buses were intercepted a Lutete trading center where they exchanged bitterly with police, amidst heavy deployment. Ingrid Turinawe told us the group was later forced to return to Rukungiri.
Only a few people made it to the prayers at Besigye’s house and over the phone they could be heard singing hymns.
Earlier in the morning, the police deputy spokesmen Polly Namaye told us that Besigye’s visitors faked the standoff to gain public attention.