The police has temporarily held Kampala Central Member of Parliament Muhammad Nsereko over the city traders strike against Chinese and increments in rent.
Nsereko, who was later released, had joined the Nakasero market traders who sought to know how some Chinese and Indians acquire the requisite documentation to work in Uganda ‘despite the high unemployment rates’.
“We have plenty of Indians and Chinese doing jobs Ugandans should be doing,” Nsereko said adding that they had started up an operation code-named ‘Operation Wajjya Otya’, literary meaning ‘operation how did you come’ to ensure only legitimate Chinese and Indians stay and do business in Kampala.
Meanwhile, Nsereko also rubbished the ongoing exercise to re-register SIM Cards, saying it was an effort in futility, carried out without taking into consideration the prevailing circumstances.
“The only problem is that you make decisions in comfort of your swinging chairs and forget the reality,” he said, adding: “These guys are absolutely out of touch with the people on ground. Their arrogance is unacceptable.”
According to Nsereko, the registration is also inconsequential in as far as security is concerned. “Issuing of national IDs and SIM card registration will not curb these kifeesi guys who break into houses,” he said.
He added: “People are using unregistered numbers from different countries through roaming. Police are trying to curb nothing here.”
Meanwhile, the High Court is expected to hear an application by ‘Jobless Brotherhood’ leader Norman Tumuhimbise, through which he is seeking to block the re-registration process, given a Thursday deadline by the Uganda Communications Commission (UCC). Tumuhimbise, who sued the UCC jointly with Rights Trumpet Limited, is no stranger to controversy and first came to the limelight in 2015 when he led a shadowy umbrella group, the Jobless Brotherhood, to drop piglets coloured in yellow, the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) colour, at Parliament.
