From Kenya to Uganda: How Besigye was kidnapped

KAMPALA, UGANDA | THE INDEPENDENT | A day after the General Court Martial sitting at Makindye remanded up to December 2, veteran opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye and his political ally, Obed Kamulegeya Lutale, details are beginning to emerge how he was kidnapped from Nairobi in Kenya and returned to Kampala.

Speaking to political allies from the Forum for Democratic Change the Katonga faction at Luzira prison on Thursday, Besigye said they were picked from an apartment building at the Riverside in Kilimani Kenya where they had gone to have a brief meeting with an undisclosed person[s].

After the meeting, Besigye was to attend a dinner with Martha Karua, a prominent opposition leader in Kenya before speaking at her book launch the following day.

Speaking to journalists at their offices in Kampala, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the MP for Kira municipality who is also the spokesperson of the Katonga group said Besigye told them that security men who pretended to be Kenyans picked them up from the apartment and bundled them in a Kenyan registered vehicle and drove them at breakneck speed with occasional stops as they sought clearance.

Eventually, at 3 am on Sunday, November 17, they arrived at the Malaba border in Uganda. When they arrived at the border, they changed the car from that of Kenya to that of Uganda. What however didn’t change were the security people who had abducted them.

Ssemujju noted that Besigye and Lutale never went through the immigration procedures as is normally the case when crossing international borders.  After about 30 minutes at the border, they were driven to Makindye military barracks where they were detained until they were presented to court on Wednesday.

Ssemujju said that Besigye told them he is not bothered about his imprisonment for there is no difference between being at Luzira and outside.

Ssemujju said Besigye also noted with concern the growing trend of the Kenyan government allowing his country to be used as a ground for political persecution of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s political opponents.

Ssemujju noted that as a party, they will be taking several measures to show their dissatisfaction with the way Besigye was treated. Ssemujju noted that on Monday they will be walking to the Kenyan High Commission to demand to know why Besigye was treated illegally.

They are also going to petition different bodies both regional and international to complain about the behaviours of Kenya.

Currently, the Lord Mayor of Kampala Erias Lukwago who is also the leader of the FDC Katonga group is in Kenya where he is going to meet different stakeholders about the behaviour of the Kenyan government.  “There is a legal process that you must follow before you extradite somebody; you just don’t act like a smuggler,” Ssemujju said.

Besigye and Lutale were yesterday charged with four counts relating to being found with two pistols and ammunition.

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