The government has released a statement in regards to the fire that was set by the Kenyan protestors at Uganda House in Nairobi last night.
The 6-floor Uganda House building which was slated for reopening this Friday 28th June, 2024 has been undergoing renovations and was only occupied by commercial tenants on the ground floor. The other floors, including, the Third Floor which previously housed the Consular Office, had been vacated to allow for renovations.
Bagiire Vincent Waiswa the Permanent secretary at the ministry of foreign affairs in the statement says that the Government of the Republic of Uganda’s relations with the Kenyan Government and the people of the Republic of Kenya remain solid.
‘’Whereas we regret the said incident that led to the destruction of the property, we commend the Nairobi Fire Department for putting out the fire. The Government of the Republic of Uganda would like to categorically state that our relations with the Government and indeed the people of the Republic of Kenya remain solid. We support peaceful demonstrations as a democratic right but we condemn in the strongest terms, violence that leads to destruction of property and loss of lives’’. The statement further revealed.
‘’While there is extensive damage to the property, we are grateful that there are no reported fatalities or serious injuries that have been identified so far. It is also important to note that none of the Diplomatic or Consular staff were in the building at the time the fire broke out. We therefore call for calm, discourage unnecessary and unhelpful speculation and premature conclusions to allow for investigations into the matter. Said in the statement’’.
In the wake of protests in Kenya, on June 25th 2024, the protestors abandoned the principle of peaceful demonstrations and took the path of destruction of properties wherein the newly refurbished Uganda House – a Commercial Building located on Kenyatta Avenue in the Nairobi Central Business District was vandalized and set ablaze.
Thousands of protesters also stormed Kenya’s parliament yesterday 25th June, to protest tax proposals, burning part of the building, sending lawmakers fleeing and drawing fire from police in unrest that the president vowed to quash.
Several people were killed in the incident
