Uganda police detain protesters at anti-graft rallies

Ugandan police detained scores of demonstrators, including protest leaders, in the capital Kampala on Tuesday, as scattered anti-corruption rallies took place despite being banned by authorities.

Riot police were out in force across Kampala, with police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke saying the authorities will "not allow a demonstration that will risk peace and security of the country".

President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the East African country with an iron fist for almost four decades, had warned at the weekend that the demonstrators were "playing with fire".

On the eve of the rally, Ugandan authorities had cracked down on the opposition, besieging the headquarters of the National Unity Platform (NUP) of former presidential candidate Bobi Wine and arresting several of his party's MPs.

As Tuesday's rallies began, a lawyer said scores of protesters were arrested in Kampala, with AFP journalists witnessing multiple arrests.

"We are tired of corruption," protester Samson Kiriya shouted from between the bars of a police van as he was arrested.

"Kampala is the pothole capital. It's because of corruption."

Several government MPs face corruption charges, with protesters calling on parliamentary speaker Anita Among to resign after she was implicated in a graft scandal -- and sanctioned by Britain in June.

- 'Price we are ready to pay' -

Three protest organisers were arrested as they marched towards parliament, lawyer Ashraf Kwezi told AFP, adding they were "taken to unknown place by the police".

He named them as George Victor Otieno, Kennedy Ndyamuhaki and Aloikin Praise Opoloje.

"This is the price we are ready to pay and we are not stopping," he said.

A heavy police presence saw roadblocks, especially near Kampala's business district, that were manned by police officers in anti-riot gear with some wearing camouflage uniforms who cut off roads to parliament.

The call to action over corruption has been organised online, with colourful posters urging people to march on parliament, drawing inspiration from neighbouring Kenya's mostly Gen-Z led anti-government protests.

"We are here to prove that it is not the police which has the power but the constitution," protester and human rights lawyer Ezra Rwashande told AFP.

"We are not relenting until we have the corrupt out of office," he added.

Police spokesman Rusoke said that "some people who defied police directive not to engage in the March to parliament and have been picked for questioning".

A police operation was "ongoing", he added, without giving details on the number of people arrested.

- 'A reflection' -

A heavy police presence also remained in place around NUP headquarters in a suburb of Kampala, an AFP journalist said, a day after opposition leader Wine said the building was "under siege" by police and army officers.

On Monday, three lawmakers with the opposition group were detained by police on "various offences and remanded to prison," according to the police spokesperson who did not give further details on the charges.

Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, called for people to support the anti-corruption demonstrations.

A NUP spokesperson confirmed three legislators, along with seven others connected to the party, had been detained.

Human Rights Watch Uganda researcher Oryem Nyeko condemned the arrests, and said they were "a reflection of where Uganda is at the moment as far as respect for those rights is concerned."

Tuesday's march was organised on social media with the hashtag #StopCorruption by young Ugandans -- some 15 million citizens out of a population of 45 million are under the age of 35, according to the latest census data.

Graft is a major issue in Uganda, with several scandals involving public officials. The country is ranked a lowly 141 out of 180 countries on Transparency International's corruption index.