A joint security team arrested 32 football fans watching the English Premier League match between Arsenal and Liverpool yesterday evening.
Patrick Onyango, the Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson sats the fans were arrested for violating the presidential and ministry of Health guidelines such as observing social distancing and the 7 pm-6.30 am curfew all intended to curtail the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19).
Interestingly, police squeezed the fans now turned suspects into a small room in Katanga in Wandegeya police also in total disregard of the social distancing guidelines of 2 metres apart between persons.
"They have been charged with disobedience of lawful orders and doing acts likely to spread infectious disease which is COVID-19," said Onyango.
Police said the suspects whose files are being prepared so that they can appear in court are currently detained at Wandegeya police station.
The televised match between Arsenal and Liverpool started at 10:15 pm and ended after midnight with Arsenal winning 2-1 against the English champions.
The English Premier League is the most popular sports competition followed by nearly all the male Ugandan youth in the country. But ever since the coronavirus disease hit the country, social gatherings of more than 10 people were banned.
More than 4,000 people have been arrested by security agencies and charged, remanded or convicted for two to three months for defying COVID-19 orders.
President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni in June ordered for the release of more the 4,000 detainees. Museveni said he had pardoned them but it is reported that only a half of the detainees have been released since the order to set them free was given.
Uganda was in total lockdown between May and June. The lockdown has partially been lifted even though more than 40 border districts are still under total lockdown. In addition, shopping arcades, plazas, non-food market vendors, Boda-boda riders, schools and churches are yet to resume operations.
Uganda has so far registered 1,051 COVID-19 positive cases of which 1,014 have already recovered. The country has not registered any COVID-19 death.
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