News / National
Uganda opposition leader nabbed
20 Feb 2016 at 11:50hrs | Views
Kampala - Ugandan police arrested top presidential challenger Kizza Besigye on Thursday as polls closed, his Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party said.
"He was in his home district where he voted when he got information that there was an illegal tally centre manned by the NRM and police," said Shawn Mubiru, senior FDC official.
"He walked in and saw them pre-ticking ballot papers. They arrested him and took him to an unknown place."
There was no immediate police confirmation, but Besigye has been repeatedly detained by police in the past, and is commonly released without charge hours later.
Television station NTV Uganda showed images of Besigye being arrested by police in the Kampala suburb of Naguru.
Besigye is the strongest among President Yoweri Museveni's seven challengers.
"Our focus is not on him, since we know who has him. We will tell them to bring him back," Mubiru added. "Our focus is on Uganda. Ugandans have voted in Dr Besigye, not Museveni."
Besigye (59), Museveni's former personal doctor, is making his fourth run at the presidency and ended his campaign by claiming the election would be neither free nor fair.
"He was in his home district where he voted when he got information that there was an illegal tally centre manned by the NRM and police," said Shawn Mubiru, senior FDC official.
"He walked in and saw them pre-ticking ballot papers. They arrested him and took him to an unknown place."
There was no immediate police confirmation, but Besigye has been repeatedly detained by police in the past, and is commonly released without charge hours later.
Besigye is the strongest among President Yoweri Museveni's seven challengers.
"Our focus is not on him, since we know who has him. We will tell them to bring him back," Mubiru added. "Our focus is on Uganda. Ugandans have voted in Dr Besigye, not Museveni."
Besigye (59), Museveni's former personal doctor, is making his fourth run at the presidency and ended his campaign by claiming the election would be neither free nor fair.
Source - AFP
