A bill which empowers Police to either approve or discard any form of political gathering in Uganda has been passed into law by the country’s parliament.

CEOAFRICA.com gathered that the Public Order Management bill was passed despite criticism from religious leaders, opposition parties and rights groups.

The bill mandated that Police approval will now be required if three or more people want to gather publicly to discuss political issues. Police can also break up meetings of three or more people discussing political issues in their own homes.

Furthermore, the bill empowered Police to use fire arms in self-defence, or against those resisting arrest.

According to our findings, the bill which was approved by the President Museveni’s dominated National Resistance Movement (NRM) parliament was initially proposed in 2009, and it has sparked various bitter debates in and outside parliament.