Uganda: Dr Besigye’s Relentless Opposition to Museveni
By Eunice Kilonzo
KAMPALA----Dr. Kizza Besigye on the 12th of April hit the headlines yet again by being arrested along Gayaza Road after stifling his Walk-to-Work march from his Kasangati home. Police forcibly arrested Dr Besigye earlier in the day as he attempted to trek several kilometers from his home, across the city centre, to The Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party headquarters in Najjanakumbi on day one of opposition parties’ demonstration against the rising living costs in the country. The anti-riot police commanded by senior officers approached and ordered him to stop walking to his Najjanakumbi office on grounds he would attract crowds and stir confusion among the public.
The walk-to work march that was meant to take him from Kasangati, Wakiso District where he resides to his office in Najjanakumbi, instead had him bundled in a police patrol car. Dr. Kizza Besigye has been in the headlines for his opposition of the Museveni government which he terms as a “rogue regime”. He was determined to continue with his walk despite being given options or else risk his arrest, which up to now is not a new phenomenon to him. The constables who had shielded him from going on with his walk gave him three options; return home, call up his driver to drop him off at work or be chauffeured by police – options he rejected. In fact in the recent development, he said he is ready to die if that will bring sanity in the governance of Uganda, including affording all citizens full enjoyment of civil liberties. “One thing that does not take my consideration is death,” he said in reaction to his jostle by police on Tuesday.
Despite serving under the Museveni government he has risen to be his greatest competitor having contested against him three times in the general elections which he was not successful although he contested the results in court but the rulings were not in his favour. He underwent military training and joined the 1980-1986 National Resistance Army (NRA) guerilla rebellion against Milton Obote's government. He was responsible for the guerillas' health and particularly attended to the Chairman, Yoweri Museveni: the incumbent president of Uganda.
When Yoweri Museveni became president in 1986, Besigye was appointed Minister of State for Internal Affairs. In 1988, he was appointed Minister of State in the President's office and National Political Commissar. In 1991, he became Commanding Officer of the Mechanized Regiment in Masaka, and in 1993 he became Chief of Logistics and Engineering. Before his retirement from the army shortly before the 2001 elections, Besigye had risen to the rank of colonel and was a Senior Military Adviser to the Ministry of Defence.
Besigye during the 2001 general election was viewed as the only viable opponent of Museveni. Besigye had become an opponent of Museveni's National Resistance Movement "no-party" system of government, saying that he believed the leadership was "incorrigibly off course", and that "someone had to step in and get things back on course". He advocated for the Movement System to be viewed as, and to remain a transitional arrangement, rather than entrench it as an alternative political system.
He has been arrested severally on various accounts such as accused of treason, concealment of treason and rape. Observers see this as a line of attack of Besigye being denied the fair chance of contesting for the highest seat of the land. The opposition politician lost a third presidential election to Mr. Museveni on February 18. Despite the fact that it was lauded as one of the most free and fair elections in Ugandan history, Besigye claimed that his challenger used intimidation and rigging to win a fourth term in office.
His recent arrest attracted the attention of the international community denouncing police handling of the walk-to-work campaign on Monday as an affront to Ugandans’ civil and human rights. The US government issued a statement voicing concern over the matter. “Freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly are fundamental human rights and a critical component of functioning democracies,” said Mr. Mark Toner, US State Department deputy spokesman.
Joann Lockard, public affairs officer at the US embassy in Uganda, said “We continue to work with the Ugandan government and Ugandan law enforcement to respect human rights, to support democratic development in Uganda and will continue to do so”. Another International watchdog Amnesty International said Uganda’s “unjust ban on public rallies” is part of an unlawful “blanket ban against all forms of public assemblies” that has been in place since the conclusion of the February general elections, on the grounds of ensuring public security.
Dr.Besigye has been released on non-cash bail of UShs. 10 million. He was charged on Monday with inciting violence and failure to comply with lawful orders by a court in Kasangati, where he resides. He was however arraigned in court six hours after his arrest. He insists that he has done nothing wrong except exercise his democratic right. He is continuing his “long walk to freedom” in the ‘Pearl of Africa’ amidst the wind of change that has enveloped the African continent from North Africa and which is currently blowing in Swaziland against King Mswati’s monarchy.