Police deny Soroti city Woman MP access to Soroti main market over covid-19 SOPs
SOROTI – Business at Soroti Modern Market on Tuesday came to standstill following a clash between the police and the Soroti City Woman Member of Parliament, Joan Acom Alobo.
Alobo, who was flanked by a group of Soroti City Council leaders had gone to the market to meet with vendors, and Market Executive members about the problems they are facing as the business community of Soroti City.
The legislator was also expected to handover aprons to the business community at Soroti Main Market in order to have a clean business community.
Alobo, on Monday reportedly sought permission from the Resident City Commissioner (RCC), City Internal Security Officer (CISO) and the police authorities to visit the market and talk to the vendors.
However, to her dismay when she arrived to the market on Tuesday afternoon at around 2:30pm, the police deployed to guard the market blocked her from accessing the market.
The police personnel cordoned the entry points to the market leaving the legislator out, which attracted a verbal exchange between her team and the police.
The vendors who were expecting to see their Member of Parliament started hauling insults to the police for blocking Alobo from talking to her voters with no clear reason.
One of the officers at the scene only identified as Eilu, who was the Commander of the police officers on ground said, they were directed by their superiors not to allow the legislator (Alobo) and her team access the market on grounds that she had not got permission from the relevant authorities.
“We shall not allow you to enter the market right now. We have been told you have no permission to access this place, so go back and get permission from the East Kyoga police regional headquarters,” Eilu told Alobo.
But Alobo argued that she had informed all the security organs in the city about her visit to the market and she demanded to know where these orders were coming from.
“On Monday, I informed the Resident City Commissioner, City Internal Security Officer and the police about my visit to the market, so who has given you power to block me from talking to my constituents?” she questioned the police officers at the market.
Meanwhile Peter Pex Paak, the Resident City Commissioner Soroti said, he had directed Alobo to seek guidance from the City Internal Security Officer and the City Clerk, Ambrose Ocen.
However, efforts to get comments from the City clerk and Internal Security Officer by the time of filing this story were futile since our repeated calls went unanswered.
But, Gregory Oscar Ageca, the East Kyoga police Spokesperson told theCooperator on phone that they could not allow the legislator and her team access the market to address the vendors because of Covid-19.
He said that allowing her to visit the market would attract crowds which contravenes the presidential guidelines on Standard Operating Systems (SOPs) to protect people from Covid-19.
“We are aware that the president banned social gatherings of more than 200 people and by us allowing the legislator to address the vendors who are more than 1000 in number, is total violation of the presidential orders,” Ageca explained.
The regional police Spokesman added that with the terror attacks happening in the country, they can’t risk holding such gatherings as this risks the lives of the locals.
“We also have fear, now that the country is experiencing sudden bomb attacks by yet to be identified perpetrators, anything may happen,” Ageca added.
However, in her response Alobo blamed the police for politicizing the matter. According to her, she was blocked from visiting the market and to address the vendors because she is from the opposition.
“I had planned to pass my message to the vendors using the Radio address system connected inside the market premises,” she said.
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On the issue of security threats, Alobo said the police would have subjected her and the team she was moving with to check-up at the market entry as its being done to other people since they are security experts.
However, her pleas to the police to allow her access the market and deliver only the aprons to the market vendors fell on deaf hears, Alobo and her team drove to Agipu daily market in Soroti City East.
Despite heavy police deployments at Agipu market as well, Alobo maneuvered her way into the market where she talked to the vendors without the notice of the police.
Sources within the police cycles and Soroti City Council who preferred anonymity intimated to theCooperator that the City authorities connived with the police to deny the legislator access to the market because they believe that the vendors may expose the rot surrounding the allocation of stalls in the market among other issues.
“There was tension on Monday amongst the Executive members of Soroti Main Market, the Allocation Committee and the City Council Authorities when they heard that the Soroti City Member of Parliament, Joan Alobo Acom was going to visit the market and talk to the vendors about the challenges they are facing,” they added.
Soroti main market vendors, the market leadership, the allocation committee and Soroti city council authorities have been embroiled in a row over double allocation of lock-ups, stalls allocated to public servants among others.
The market leadership has on several occasions frustrated efforts by the aggrieved vendors to meet with the leaders because they fear being exposed.
When the Minister of Local Governments Raphael Magezi visited the market on the 20th of October, 2021, the aggrieved vendors were denied to meet with him.
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