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Arsenal fans arrested in Uganda after celebrating Manchester United victory

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Festus Conteh
By Festus Conteh 196 Views 3 Min Read
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Arsenal fans arrested in Uganda after celebrating Manchester United victory
Arsenal fans arrested in Uganda after celebrating Manchester United victory

Eight Arsenal fans were arrested in the Ugandan city of Jinja after celebrating the club’s win against Manchester United in the English Premier League. The fans had been travelling in a convoy of five vehicles, wearing the Arsenal red jerseys and carrying a symbolic trophy.

According to Police, the fans did not have permission to hold the procession, which is a public order offence. The match, which saw a dramatic last-minute goal giving the Gunners a 3-2 win, had given hope to Arsenal fans across the world that the club could win the English Premier League after a 19-year wait.

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When interviewed by the local Daily Monitor news site, Arsenal fan Baker Kasule said, “I don’t know what we have done but we were simply celebrating our victory over rivals Manchester United.” James Mubi, the regional police boss and an Arsenal fan himself, commented that he hadn’t reviewed the charges against the fans yet, but was surprised they were celebrating when only half of the matches in the season had been played. He further stated, “What would happen if an altercation with rival fans broke out? They did not inform police to provide security for their procession.”

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Rights groups have pointed out that the Public Order Management Act has given police discretionary powers that have been used to restrict citizens’ rights. Agather Atuhaire, a lawyer and rights activist, commented to the BBC that Ugandan police continue “to be high-handed even after the Constitutional Court nullified all the draconian provisions that gave them unfettered powers to restrict the constitutionally guaranteed freedom of association and assembly”.

Arsenal and Manchester United have huge followings in Uganda, and across Africa. Video halls in Uganda are always packed to the rafters when the teams play.

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Festus Conteh is an international youth that functions conveniently in all forms of writing including article writing, news, script, content writing, constitution and project/proposal writing. Writing is fun to Festus and has brought fame and recognition in his clime. In 2019, he was awarded best upcoming writer in an online writing completion that was organized by the Association of Sierra Leonean Authors (ASLA). After his impactful contribution to national development and cohesion through writing, he was nominated for the African Genius Award for the Best Writer in Africa Award Category an award he lost to one of the greatest African Writers - Chinua Achebe. In 2022, Festus was one of the applicants to the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) as Vice Chairperson (Policy and Advocacy) a process that met imperil feedback. As a freelancer, Festus has written articles for magazines, newspapers, and media houses and his articles have attracted big media houses including BBC, Aljazeera and Legit. Ng and is the Head of Programs at Salone Messenger a public relations firm based in Sierra Leone with the latest news and information. He is the founder of Africa’s Wakanda a platform that spotlight the beauty of Africa. Festus is also a perpetual volunteer in life-changing causes and has shown great commitment and dedication to being a catalyst and solution to the challenges faced by young people like himself. Festus currently serves as the Secretary General of the Africa Youth Leaders movement which is a network of youth between the ages of 20 – 30 years who have shown achievement, leadership potential and commitment to make a difference. Festus is also the Africa Focal Point of Youth for Change Initiative, which is a platform through which young people can access resources, be empowered and given the opportunity to grow to become useful members of society who will participate in the development of their communities and nation. Along with another Africa Youth platform, Festus has Co-Founded the Future of Africa initiative which is an advocate forum with the aim to bring together local and international socio-economic stakeholders to support innovative programs aimed at advancing the radical and practical progress of adoption awareness-vulnerable children and youth and youth leadership-through interlinking local, regional and international resources and opportunities.