Uganda MPs ejected from parliament as row over term limit bill gets physical

AP, REUTERS
An activist opposed to the extension of presidential age limits is arrested and carried off by uniformed and plainclothes police near the Parliament building in Kampala, Uganda, on Sept. 21, 2017. Ugandan police on Thursday fired tear gas to disperse protesters and arrested dozens of people opposed to plans to introduce legislation that could allow the longtime president Yoweri Museveni to extend his rule. (AP Photo/Ronald Kabuubi)

KAMPALA: Fighting erupted in Uganda’s parliament for a second consecutive day on Wednesday over a plan to change the law to extend President Yoweri Museveni’s rule in the east African country.
Some lawmakers opposed to the move were also roughed up and ejected from the parliament’s chambers.
Speaker Rebecca Kadaga suspended 25 lawmakers from parliament for misbehavior on Tuesday.
The suspended MPs were accused of obstructing proceedings in a riotous session on Tuesday during which legislators brawled over efforts to introduce a contentious motion to remove the presidential age limit of 75 from Uganda’s constitution.
Museveni, who is 73 and has ruled Uganda since 1986, is ineligible to run again in 2021 if the age barrier stays.
Uganda’s media regulator Wednesday restricted live coverage of parliamentary sessions, leading local television channels to stop broadcasting a live feed.
Police have violently broken up street demonstrations protesting the effort to amend the constitution. Presidential term limits were removed from Uganda’s constitution in 2005.