Former FDC leader Kizza Besigye during a visit to Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago at Case Clinic on Friday. Mr Lukwago was hospitalised after the police hurled a teargas canisters into his car, causing him to collapse. PHOTO BY ISAAC KASAMANI. By Dear Jean Posted Saturday, June 22 2013 at 01:00 In Summary Caution. The former FDC president says more officers in uniform will come out to speak about ‘social, economic and political’ injustices in the country like Gen Tinyefuza recently did. SHARE THIS STORY Tweet 0 inShare Related Stories * Besigye speaks out on Gen Tinye saga Former FDC party president Kizza Besigye has warned that more people in uniform could come out to openly speak about what is happening in the country like renegade Gen David Sejusa did. Speaking at Case Clinic where he had gone to visit hospitalised Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago yesterday, Dr Besigye said: “More people in uniform will be coming out to speak about …social, economic and political injustice.” Mr Lukwago was involved in a burst-up with the police around Kisekka Market in Kampala on Thursday, where the riot officers sprayed tear gas and fired live bullets to disperse a crowd of supporters of Dr Besigye and Mr Lukwago. Two people were shot in the ensuing scuffle, with the Uganda Red Cross stating that 11 others were injured while a boda boda rider died while being evacuated to Mulago hospital. Dr Besigye was arrested and detained for the day for what the police called inciting violence. Gen Sejusa left the country about two months ago in the wake of a leaked letter asking the head of the Internal Security Organisation to investigate “rumours” that top military leaders were being targeted for assassination for opposing an alleged plan by President Museveni to have his son, Brig Muhoozi Kainerugaba, succeed him. Gen Sejusa, who by the time of the fallout was the coordinator of intelligence services, was the third senior army officer to go public about his disagreements with the establishment. Dr Besigye was the first to go that way in 1999 when he published a critical missive under the title “An insider’s account of how the Movement lost the broad base” for which he was nearly arraigned before the court martial. Brig. Henry Tumukunde followed suit with his criticism of attempts to lift the two-term limit to the presidential terms in 2005, which resulted in an eight-year court martial trial in which he was recently found guilty of spreading harmful propaganda but was let off with a caution. Dr Besigye said the blood of those who died during the five-year bush war that brought President Museveni to power has been “abused” and “people in uniform are not happy”. He vowed to continue with his “routine” of leading protests. By press time Dr Besigye was still in a meeting with Ms Ingrid Turinawe (FDC Women’s League), Mr Mathias Mpuga (Masaka Municipality MP) and Kawempe mayor Mubaraka Munyagwa. Earlier in the day, police trailed the former opposition leader from his home in Kasangati, in Wakiso District, to Case Clinic, located in the city centre. Dr Besigye, who was accompanied by Ms Turinawe and several of his aide then drove to Wandegye and attempted to head downtown but were intercepted by the police and asked to drive through Upper Kyaggwe Road to Central Police Station. However for about 15 minutes the police could not locate the former FDC leader, until a call came that he was already at the For God and My Country (4GC) offices at Katonga Road. The Thursday chaos comes just three weeks after President Museveni dismissed his major political opponent as a spent force who cannot “disorganise” Uganda. Speaking at the Heroes Day celebrations at Butalangu Town Council in Nakaseke District, President Museveni said Dr Besigye had been contained. “No one can disorganise the country. Besigye tried to disorganise Kampala, the capital city. We tear-gassed him until he cooled off. He doesn’t need bullets. Just teargas is enough for him,” said Mr Museveni. Dr Besigey has been the main protagonist in the activities of several pressure groups that have held demonstrations in Kampala, protesting the “difficult economic conditions”. The most notable of the groups being the Activists for Change (A4C), led by Mr Mpuuga. After a series of confrontations with the police, the group was banned. It mutated to For God and My Country (4GC), which has also been declared illegal. Dr Besigye, who recently quit the FDC presidency to engage in political activism, was a key fixture in the demonstrations. There was public uproar when the police in April 2011 stopped Dr Besigye’s car at Mulago roundabout, dousing him with pepper spray that left him partially blind. He had to be flown to Nairobi for treatment. [email protected]
Posted on: Sat, 22 Jun 2013 08:40:26 +0000
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