Bizonto Comedy Group arrested again

By Jeremiah Kaniampiha 

Bizonto Comedy Group has been arrested by police over sectarian and inciting utterances, according to police. The group will appear before Buganda Road Court, today Friday March5, 2021. The arrested are four Radio Simba presenters and comedians, who named themselves Bizonto.  Anyway, Bizonto literally means morons; the stupid ones.

This is the second time the comedy group is being arrested over similar offences. Last year the group was detained after they staged and released a comedy skit that aimed at inciting Ugandans against the ruling tribe (Banyankole) from western part of the country. The comedy skit portrayed the Banyankole as the most favoured tribe in all government departments.

According to the CID spokesperson, Charles Twine, the quartet was arrested on Thursday night and are set to be arraigned in court later today, Friday.

“They are on their way to Buganda Road court. They had a sanctioned file for allegations of promoting sectarianism,” Twine said.

The four presenters known for their stage name Bizonto, loosely translated as “the foolish) including Ssabakaki Simon Peter, Julius Sserwanja, Mercel Mbabali and Gold Kimatono were in July 2020 arrested for releasing a satirical skit in which they mentioned several heads of government institutions denoting how they all hail from the western part of the country.

In their skit, the group mentioned President Museveni, Electoral Commission, UNRA, Uganda Prisons, URA, NSSF, Ministry of Finance, ISO and CMI bosses.

The police then slapped on them charges related to recording and sharing a video with the potential of causing hatred and unnecessary apprehension and it is the same charges that have seen them arrested for the second time.

The group will be arraigned in court to answer the same charges according to police.