A lot has happened since Ugandan opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye was abducted from Nairobi, Kenya, where he had gone to attend Martha Karua’s book launch.
Politicians like Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine expressed fear that Kenya was no longer a safe haven for Ugandans critical of President Yoweri Museveni’s regime of nearly four decades.
Kenya denied any involvement in the arrest of Dr Besigye. “I would like to assure you that this is not the act of the Kenyan government or our security officials,” Dr Korir Sing’Oei, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, told local media.
It was not long before Ugandan information minister Dr Chris Baryomunsi contradicted Sing’Oei’s account.
“Uganda and Kenya authorities were in the know on the arrest and transfer of Dr Besigye to Uganda. Kenya is a sovereign country and with a full functioning governance system and it is not possible for an arrest to happen in the country, especially Nairobi, and the suspect is transferred across borders without the knowledge of institutions of Kenya,” Baryomunsi said.
“Without involvement of Kenya, it would not have been possible to have Besigye cross into Uganda.”
BESIGYE LEAKED CLASSIFIED AUDIOS
An interesting development has the dissemination of leaked classified audios purported to be of Besigye negotiating firearms to remove government.
“We have the capacity to get the weapons. It is not a big [deal]. What [we need], depending on the way things develop, the only thing that one may require is something for the air,” the man says.
In the leaked classified audios, ‘Besigye’ is heard telling a foreigner that he was sure the army was divided and that Ugandans seemed ready for change.
“First of all, the army itself is highly divided. Very divided, and we have a lot of people within the Army, and even within the Air Force,” he tells the foreigner.
“I told you we have some people in the Air Force. I can get and have a meeting with an Air Force officer [who] is involved in this.”
‘Besigye’ tells the yet to be identified foreigner that “drones are useful, and I think that is why you said you are going to train those people. Like I have said we can have capacity to deal with the helicopter.”
‘Besigye’ also talks of the challenges of information leaking, something he is worried could put his allies in great danger.
“The challenge, of course, is whether I will be at liberty to put some of our people, again, in trouble because you never know what happens with information,” he says.
The man said to be Besigye also said he believes that Bobi Wine and his group are unserious about removing Museveni’s regime.
The authenticity of the audios remains a question of debate, with some dismissing it as a tool of propaganda and trumped up evidence while others are calling it a product of artificial intelligence.
You can read about Besigye’s charges in the Ugandan military court Here.
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