Military police
fired tear gas on Thursday to disperse a crowd of more than 1,000
marching to the centre of the Ugandan capital, Kampala, in protest
against steep rises in food and fuel prices, Reuters witnesses said.
Opposition leader,
Kizza Besigye, President Yoweri Museveni’s closest rival in February
elections, marched with the demonstrators, who had gathered in a
Kampala suburb and defied police attempts to scatter them before they
reached the city centre.
Opposition and
civil society groups launched their first “walk to work” protest
against steep rises in the cost of living on Monday, but it was swiftly
stifled by police, and opposition leaders were detained.
The groups had vowed to continue protesting every few days and the march on Thursday was their second demonstration.
