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Besigye Arrest: Top FDC Shots Camp at Makindye Military Court.
The charges follow what Besigye’s allies describe as a dramatic abduction from Nairobi, Kenya, over the weekend.
Top FDC officials have arrived at Makindye General Military Court Martial where opposition leader, Dr. Kizza Besigye, will be charged later today.
The officials include Amb Wasswa Birigwa, Deputy Kampala Mayor Doreen Nyanjula and Salaam Musumba among others.
Besigye, a vocal critic of President Museveni, is set to face charges of subversion in a military court.
The charges follow what Besigye’s allies describe as a dramatic abduction from Nairobi, Kenya, over the weekend.
Corps say the mood remains tense at the court where FDC officials have gathered in an expression of solidarity with the former presidential candidate.
Besigye’s disappearance on Saturday, November 16, in the affluent Westlands suburb of Nairobi sparked widespread concern among supporters and members of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).
Eng. Winnie Byanyima, Besigye’s wife, claimed he was “kidnapped” while attending a book launch for Kenyan politician Hon. Martha Karua.
Byanyima said she had received reliable information that Besigye is detained in a military facility in Kampala.
“We, his family and his lawyers demand to see him. He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?” Byanyima stated.
A government official, speaking anonymously, confirmed that investigations into Besigye’s activities have been completed and that paperwork is being finalized for his arraignment before military courts.
Kenya’s Foreign Permanent Secretary, Korir Sing’Oei was quoted as saying, “There is no reason whatsoever for Kenya to be party in his arrest, if any,” defending the country’s human rights record as exemplary in the region.
Arrests
However, 36 former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) members were arrested in Kisumu, Kenya, and extradited to Uganda in August this year and charged with terrorism.
According to the prosecution, the 36 were arrested between July 22 and 23, 2024, in Kisumu, Kenya, for allegedly receiving or providing terrorism training, charges they vehemently denied.