Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye arrested, to face treason charges
KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) -- Police arrested a major opposition leader Monday, saying for the first time they suspect him of links to the notorious rebel Lord's Resistance Army. The arrest touched off protests that police put down with tear gas and water cannon.
Kizza Besigye, who was greeted by huge crowds when he returned from exile last month and has mounted the strongest challenge to President Yoweri Museveni's 19-year rule, will be charged with treason on Tuesday, said Maj. Gen. Kale Kaihura, the police inspector general.
If convicted, he faces the maximum death sentence.
Besigye, once a close Museveni ally, and 22 others "are accused of plotting to overthrow the government of Uganda by force of arms." He is accused of recruiting, mobilizing arms and other logistical support as well as gathering intelligence to fight the government, Kaihura said.
The charges stem from evidence obtained from rebels captured in lawless eastern Congo and in neighboring western Uganda, said Kaihura, a trusted, longtime military aide to Museveni.
Former Lord's Resistance Army commanders, who have since abandoned a separate rebellion in northern Uganda, have provided credible evidence of links between Besigye's political party and the notorious insurgents, Kaihura told journalists.
Besigye's October 26 return from exile in South Africa "made it possible to proceed with the prosecution. His public statement justifying violence and refusing to renounce armed rebellion, confirmed the suspicion that he was actively involved in acts of war against Uganda," Kaihura said.
Police fired tear gas and used a water canon to disperse angry supporters as heavily armed officers transferred Besigye from the outskirts of the capital to the central police station.
"Museveni is a dictator! It is time for Museveni to go!" opposition supporters shouted near the police station. Others torched vehicles and roadside kiosks, looted from businesses and burnt tires on the streets.
Some businesses in central Kampala closed down amid fears of escalating violence.
Besigye has denied past accusations from the government that he led the People's Redemption Army, described as a group of armed Ugandan dissidents based in the east of neighboring Congo.
Government charges that Besigye has links with the Lord's Resistance Army are new.
The cult-like LRA is notorious for kidnapping children and using them as soldiers or concubines. It is made up of the remnants of a northern insurgency that began after Museveni, who like Besigye is a southerner, first took power. The rebels have declared they want to replace Museveni's government with one guided by the Ten Commandants.
Besigye has been making appearances across the country as he prepared a bid to run in March presidential elections. He was arrested as he returned to the capital, Kampala, from political meetings in southwestern Uganda, his home region.
Besigye finished second in 2001 presidential elections. After the elections, he fled Uganda saying he feared for his life and because Museveni had threatened with arrest.
In the past the government had accused Besigye of terrorist activities, but never provided evidence. Museveni's office released a statement when Besigye returned last month saying, "The president clearly states that he has nothing against the return of Besigye. He however advised that should there be allegations of Besigye's involvement in criminal activities, the normal course of investigations will be carried out and the law will take its due course."
Besigye was Museveni's personal physician during a five-year insurgency that Museveni led before coming to power in 1986.
Museveni had come to power hailed as a reformist in a country that suffered the brutal tyranny of Idi Amin in the 1970s and 1980s. Museveni's progressive credentials have been called into questions amid what his critics see as signs he wants to remain president for life.
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