Erias Nalukoola Luyimbazi wants to be the new Member of Parliament for Kawempe North. He is from the National Unity Platform, or NUP, which is a group that doesn't like the government. On Wednesday, something very bad happened to him. Right after he signed up to run for the job, a bunch of security officers grabbed him. They were carrying guns and wearing masks over their faces.
The officers were not nice to Erias at all. They pulled on him so hard that his shirt came unbuttoned. Even though Erias begged them to stop, they didn't listen. They just kept pushing him around. Then they shoved him into their car. It was a Toyota Hiace, which people call a "drone."
Erias's supporters saw what was happening and got very upset. They tried to help him, but the security officers shot their guns in the air. This made the crowd run away. The officers took Erias and some of his NUP friends to the Kawempe police station.
After a little while at the police station, the officers let Erias go. They didn't say he did anything wrong. Erias talked about what happened to him. He said the officers whipped him and his friends. He tried to run away on a motorcycle taxi called a boda boda. But the mean officers pulled him off the motorcycle. They dragged him on the road and then threw him into their car.
At the police station, the officers put Erias and his friends in a tiny room. They hit them even though they couldn't escape. Erias said the officers are not good at their jobs. He thinks they are supposed to protect people's rights but instead, they are hurting people. He believes these actions put Uganda's democracy in danger.
Erias was already having a tough day before he got arrested. He says someone kidnapped his helper the night before and stole his original nomination papers. These missing papers included the receipts showing he paid the fees to run for office. Erias believes the government planned these bad things to happen to him.
Erias is trying to replace Muhammad Ssegirinya. Muhammad used to be the MP for Kawempe North, but he died. The voting to choose the new MP will happen on March 13, 2025. Even though a lot of horrible things happened, Erias says he won't give up. He wants to keep working to improve democracy in Uganda.
The officers were not nice to Erias at all. They pulled on him so hard that his shirt came unbuttoned. Even though Erias begged them to stop, they didn't listen. They just kept pushing him around. Then they shoved him into their car. It was a Toyota Hiace, which people call a "drone."
Erias's supporters saw what was happening and got very upset. They tried to help him, but the security officers shot their guns in the air. This made the crowd run away. The officers took Erias and some of his NUP friends to the Kawempe police station.
After a little while at the police station, the officers let Erias go. They didn't say he did anything wrong. Erias talked about what happened to him. He said the officers whipped him and his friends. He tried to run away on a motorcycle taxi called a boda boda. But the mean officers pulled him off the motorcycle. They dragged him on the road and then threw him into their car.
At the police station, the officers put Erias and his friends in a tiny room. They hit them even though they couldn't escape. Erias said the officers are not good at their jobs. He thinks they are supposed to protect people's rights but instead, they are hurting people. He believes these actions put Uganda's democracy in danger.
Erias was already having a tough day before he got arrested. He says someone kidnapped his helper the night before and stole his original nomination papers. These missing papers included the receipts showing he paid the fees to run for office. Erias believes the government planned these bad things to happen to him.
Erias is trying to replace Muhammad Ssegirinya. Muhammad used to be the MP for Kawempe North, but he died. The voting to choose the new MP will happen on March 13, 2025. Even though a lot of horrible things happened, Erias says he won't give up. He wants to keep working to improve democracy in Uganda.
