Five members of the Peace of Trumpet Ministry, a religious sect based in northern Uganda, have been arrested on suspicion of sabotaging the ongoing national census, local media reported.
The suspects, who ranged in age from 19 to 30, reportedly rode around on bicycles convincing residents not to participate in the national census, claiming they would not end up on St. Peter's lists, reasoning that such government programs are "satanic."
On Friday, however, the quintet was detained by regional police and charged with public nuisance.
Police told the media that the statements of relevant witnesses have been recorded, the loudspeaker, microphone and bicycle have been confiscated, and the case file is ready to be handed over to the public prosecutor for review and legal advice.
The Ugandan government had earlier declared Friday a public holiday to enable citizens to fully participate in the census and urged everyone to join in on the weekend of Saturday and Sunday.
According to the government, census data play a critical role in planning, policy formulation and program implementation, as well as in monitoring development progress in line with national goals and objectives.
The enumeration exercise, running for 10 days, will end next week on May 19 and is held under the topic "It matters to be Counted."
This is the 11th census conducted in Uganda since the first one in 1948 and the sixth since independence. In the 1969 census, there were 9.5 million people living in Uganda, and in the 2014 census, this number increased to 34.8 million.