KAMPALA, Saturday
Police
in Uganda said Saturday they were testing two piglets for "terrorism
related material" after they were sneaked into the country's parliament
by two anti-corruption protesters.
Seven police
officers who were on duty outside parliament have also been suspended
over the embarrassing security breach and detained on charges of neglect
of duty, police deputy spokeswoman Polly Namaye told AFP.
"The
investigators are to test the animals for terrorism related material.
You never know, there could have been another motive other than a
protest," she said. "This is a standard practice in investigations,
leaving out no chances."
Uganda, which has troops in
Somalia as part of the African Union force fighting Al-Qaeda-linked
Shabaab insurgents, is currently on high alert amid fears of attacks by
the militants.
"In this era, every option must be
explored. What is seen as a protest can be different, including
terrorism, that's why these tests must be done to ensure there is not
any other motive by these protesters," she added.
This
week two men managed to sneak into the tightly guarded parliament and
let loose two piglets. The men, Robert Mayanja and Norman Tumuhimbise,
are members of a protest movement calling themselves the "jobless
brotherhood group"
Officials said the protestors had
painted the animals in the colours of the ruling party of President
Yoweri Museveni, one of Africa's longest serving leaders, and had
written slogans on the animals insulting MPs as corrupt -- including the
word "MPigs".
On Friday, relatives of the men said
they have been sent to prison awaiting trial on three charges of
"criminal trespass, conspiracy to sneak piglets into parliament and
interrupting parliament work."
The unemployed men were protesting at what they said was corruption and extravagant spending by lawmakers.
Uganda
has been the subject of frequent criticism from foreign donors over
allegations of rampant corruption, although protests in the country by
Ugandans are rare.
Earlier this year, MPs caused a
storm after it emerged they had demanded a massive raise in their
salaries, already 60 times higher than most state employees, and that
the country's chief auditor had complained deputies had failed to
account for millions of dollars of expenses.
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