Security blocks PFF offices, Katonga Road ahead of planned judiciary march

Kampala, Uganda | URN | There is heavy security deployment at the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) headquarters and Katonga Road in Kampala, preventing party members and staff from accessing the offices ahead of a planned protest march to the Judiciary headquarters. Field Force Unit (FFU), anti-riot police and traffic officers deployed as early as 7:00 am along Katonga Road, effectively blocking access to the PFF offices.

A police patrol vehicle was stationed in the middle of Katonga Road on the Freeway Hotel side, while another roadblock was mounted near the Tanzanian Embassy. Police were also seen patrolling Mackinnon Road, Jaffer Lane and the Lugogo Bypass. Vehicles and pedestrians attempting to use Katonga Road were directed to alternative routes.

George William Kaketo, a PFF staff member, was among those stopped at the roadblock. Speaking to Uganda Radio Network, Kaketo said police told him to return home because the offices had been closed and there would be no work for the day. He said he had reported early to prepare for the planned march, which was intended to proceed from the PFF headquarters to the Judiciary headquarters, where party members would deliver a petition to Chief Justice Flavian Zeija.

Kaketo said the petition was intended to demand that PFF leader Dr Kizza Besigye be granted bail to enable him to access medical treatment outside prison. He said the petition would also express the party’s dissatisfaction with the way the courts have handled the cases involving Besigye and former Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago.

“I don’t know if our leaders will come here or there is a change of program. But we were meant to set off from here in a peaceful way to the Judiciary headquarters to hand over our petition. We want our leader to be granted his right to court bail and go for medical treatment anywhere he wants for his life. But in the petition we are also expressing our dismay on how court has handled Dr. Kizza Besigye and former Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago cases,” Kaketo said.

Kaketo said the party had notified police about the planned procession. He said PFF Deputy Secretary General Kennedy Okello formally notified the Inspector General of Police in a letter dated September 7, 2026, indicating that the procession would start from Katonga at 11:00 am and proceed to the Chief Justice’s office. Another PFF member who attempted to ask police why access to the party offices had been blocked was reportedly pursued by officers after they attempted to arrest him. He managed to escape.

The blockade comes amid a history of police restrictions on activities organised by the opposition group. In 2025, a PFF march led by Ingrid Turinawe and Kampala Deputy Lord Mayor Doreen Nyanjura demanding Besigye’s release from Luzira was blocked after police sealed off roads, citing lack of clearance. In February 2025, security forces also sealed off the FDC/PFF offices in Rukungiri District where supporters had gathered for prayers for Besigye and his aide Hajji Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya.

At the time, the Deputy Resident District Commissioner said the organisers had not informed security, while office administrator Caleb Musimenta described the deployment as unnecessary. PFF has repeatedly described such blockades as suppression of the right to freedom of assembly, while police have maintained that restrictions are intended to maintain public order.

Besigye and his co-accused, Hajji Obeid Lutale, were arrested in Nairobi on November 16, 2024, before being returned to Uganda and charged with treason-related offences. They have been denied bail several times and remain on remand at Luzira Prison. Lukwago, who is also Besigye’s lawyer and the interim chairman of PFF, was arrested at his Wakaliga home in Kampala on June 15, 2026, and charged with misprision of treason over allegations that he failed to report plans to commit treason.

He was also remanded to Luzira. The cases have been accompanied by concerns over the health of the two political figures. On August 28, 2026, Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, said he had been transferred after dark to the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) and was very weak and struggling to walk and speak.

Uganda Prisons spokesperson Frank Baine confirmed on September 1 that Besigye and Lukwago had been evacuated to JCRC for medical attention, but said they were stable. In a letter dated July 1, 2026, from Luzira Prison, Besigye also insisted that deported Kenyan Senior Counsel Martha Karua and jailed Lukwago remain his lawyers of choice, accusing the court of disregarding his fair-trial rights. The heavy deployment around the PFF offices has now cast uncertainty over whether the planned procession to the Judiciary headquarters will proceed.