Security today blocked members of the Kampala Ghetto Ambassadors Association from accessing State House, Entebbe.
The group members, who claimed to belong to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party stormed State House today Thursday morning demanding to see President Yoweri Museveni.
Just like other NRM members have done in the past, the group mainly comprising youths, bypassed the party secretariate in Kampala and stormed the heavily guarded State House. The over 80 members first convened at the junction leading to Entebbe Municipal Council offices and Entebbe Golf Club before marching to the main entrance of State House.
However, the security officers at the entrance couldn’t allow the group in since they didn’t have an appointment with Museveni. Police officers later escorted the youths who were donning yellow NRM branded t-shirts to the Children’s Park, a kilometre away to wait for a formal response from State House and Museveni.
The youth expect to catch the attention of the president as he exits or enters State House. Some of the youths told our reporter that they are boda boda riders who campaigned for Museveni last year.
They claim that Museveni promised to pay them Shs 2.5 billion during a meeting at his residence in Rwakitura last year but nothing has happened. The youths declined to reveal their identities or be recorded citing security reasons.
“We are surrounded by security officers who are in uniform and plainclothes and when they see us speaking to journalists we might get in trouble. We don’t want to leave Entebbe before getting an answer from our president,” one youth said. It is not the first time NRM supporters are storming State House uninvited to speak to the president.
Close to six groups have been stopped at the main entrance of the State House or along the Kampala-Entebbe highway since January 2021 on their way to meet the president. These are mainly individuals who contested in the 2021 elections and lost while others like boda boda riders are demanding payment.
In January 2021, hundreds of candidates contesting for mayoral and councillor seats in some of the cities and municipalities stormed the main entrance of the State House to complain about the delayed release of facilitation for their electoral activities.
The candidates demanded that their facilitation ranging from Shs 500,000 to Shs 3 million be paid to them in advance before the elections that were slated for January 25, 2021.
Hajji Njuki Mbabali, the Entebbe deputy resident district commissioner has in the past warned individuals against storming State House without formal invitations.
