Kyadondo East MP, Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine has revealed how he survived arrest while leading a peaceful demonstration against social media and mobile money taxes.
“I would like to thank whoever came through and added a voice to the struggle against the unfair taxation. The police fought so hard to arrest me but the power of the people overpowered them,” he tweeted on his official Twitter handle.
He added: “There’s no amount of bullets, teargas or arrests that will stop us. Some of our colleagues have been beaten up and others arrested. They must be freed for they have nothing against the police but rather the terrible tax.”
A cross section of artists and journalists took part in the procession on Wednesday morning called by Bobi Wine to protest against the new taxes at the city square in the middle of the capital, Kampala.
The beginning of this month saw the government introduce taxes on Mobile Money transactions and social media much to the chagrin of the population.
Whereas government argues that revenue collected would help reduce dependence on loans and finance its projects, opponents of the tax believe it’s unfair.
However, the president directed that the Mobile Money tax be reduced from 1% to 0.5%, a directive yet to be honored.
We expect those people in power to fight for us the lower class citizens of the country, but we wonder why others attend parliamentary sittings and keep their mouth shut, their brains domant and even others sleep in parliament during such crucial issues.
Is this how people are going to be treated in their own state? Some of the MPs are quiet just because they don’t have any sympathy upon the Ugandan people, they see this 200sh social media tax as a “chicken” feed to them but they forget about us. This move is making Ugandans poorer and live a miserable life.
We can’t accept this… I believe together we can make it.. It’s true Hon kyagulanyi was seen as a young boy who had joined parliament with no ideas, they thought he would just be a “ganja man” in parliament, now here he proves to every body that he is a man with ideas, a great man with focus and so many tasks to accomplish.
We the people from Kyadondo call him our hero, indeed he is no doubt. We have joined you hon. Bobi wine we shall fight till the very end.
Now you wonder, you look at these “hen pecked” police men arresting those in a peaceful revolution. History repeats it’s self.
Hon. Ssentamu kyagulanyi mostly known as Bobi Wine is one of the people who have true feelings of the people, he is a Ugandan hero, activist, nationalist and I must make it clear that he is a charismatic leader.
Am proud to be a Ugandan from Kyadondo east. The world should know that we the lower class citizens need freedom, why should the government levy heavy taxes on us? We need freedom.
PEOPLE POWER, POWER PEOPLE…. We are the people, the power belongs to us… WE NEED FREEDOM.
I appreciate the journalists who do a very great job to sensitize, educate, mobilise and inform the masses. Am humbled.