President Goodluck Jonathan
President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed shock over the reported death of a Ugandan as a result of protests during the swearing-in of President Yoweri Museveni.
Jonathan, in a statement by his Senior Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ima Niboro, however, explained that the death did not occur where the President was and, contrary to reports, he was neither attacked nor were stones thrown at his convoy.
Though he said the opposition in Uganda staged a peaceful procession, it was not targeted at the president who had been enthusiastically received and had concluded his reason for the visit before his convoy passed a peaceful procession that did not obstruct them and therefore would not have been the target of any protest.
Niboro reiterated that Jonathan believes in the sanctity of life and that no office was worth the life of anybody, hence his shock at the death.
According to him, the inauguration of Museveni who has been in power since 1986 had been completed and the president was on his way to the airport for departure when they were asked to return to their hotel due to the activities of an opposition leader who returned to the country that day. He insisted that if anybody was killed, it would be after their convoy had passed and that such would not have been to their knowledge.
"What actually happened is that after the event the president was on his way to the airport when he was requested to return to his hotel that there was an ongoing protest on his route to the airport. So the president decided to return.
"On the way to the hotel, the convoy passed through an area identified as a stronghold of the opposition.
But the crowd was quite courteous and some even waved at us.
However, a particular Ugandan VIP protection jeep seemed to enter a panic mode, given the neighbourhood, and began to swerve frantically from side to side, and in the process forcing passersby into a ditch.
"Those affected pelted the jeep with stones. It was a brief incident, lasting no more than a few seconds," he explained.
Niboro described as a surprise reports that painted a different picture from what happened since when they were cleared to proceed to the airport, they passed by a peaceful procession led by Col. Kizza Besigye without any incident.
"There was no attack on Jonathan though some people may have been pushed out of the road by Ugandan security Jeep after the President had passed the particular spot," he concluded.