In a surprising and tense incident earlier today, police deployed tear gas to disperse a meeting between Kitgum Municipality MP Onekalit Denis Amere and market vendors.
The event was intended to empower vendors through a donation of 70 million Ugandan shillings distributed across more than 30 sectors of the main market.
Police arrived on the scene, ordered the event to be shut down, and arrested Charles Odera, a councilor organizing the event alongside MP Amere. Both were detained briefly but later released without charges or any recorded statements.
The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has strongly condemned the police’s actions, labeling them as deliberate sabotage of MP Amere’s development efforts. The party also highlighted that members of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) were reportedly allowed to hold a similar event at the same market without interference, raising concerns about possible political bias in the police response.
MP Amere, still recovering from the morning’s scuffle, has called for clarity on the reasons behind the police intervention. Simon Ochan, Amere’s chief strategic campaign officer, described the incident as a setback to their ongoing project, which was launched on June 29, 2025.
The initiative aims to support all satellite markets within the municipality by distributing donations between 500,000 and 1,000,000 Ugandan shillings to boost small businesses. Despite the disruption, Ochan affirmed that Amere remains committed to pursuing people-centered development.
As of the time of filing this report, the police have not issued any official statement regarding the incident. The public and stakeholders await their response, wondering whether the police will justify their actions or if this event will escalate into a wider political controversy.
