Uganda Police Arrest Opposition Leader
Besigye Over Protest
21 April, 2011 | By Fred Ojambo (Bloomberg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Judith Nabakooba, a police spokeswoman, said by phone from the
city. She didn’t have details on what charges Besigye would face.
“He was arrested as he was moving with a group of people,”
Nabakooba said.
Demonstrations have been organized in Uganda to denounce surging
prices for staple foods and gasoline, after inflation in the East African
nation accelerated to 11.1 percent in March, from 6.4 percent a
month earlier. The government has vowed to detain the protesters
because they are acting “outside the law and accepted norms of
society,” Internal Affairs Minister Kirunda Kivejinja said on April 19.
Protests have also been held in neighboring Kenya over rising food
and fuel costs. On April 19, about 200 people marched through the
center of the capital, Nairobi, to present a petition to the government
demanding lower prices. Kenya’s government announced a
reduction in fuel taxes a day before the demonstration.
Budget Interference
Uganda isn’t planning to lower tariffs on fuel like Kenya because this
would interfere with the country’s budget, Kivejinja said on April 19.
On April 11, Besigye was arrested for blocking traffic while taking
part in a so-called walk-to-work demonstration. Three days later, at
a similar demonstration, Besigye’s hand was injured after police
sprayed teargas and fired rubber bullets to disperse protesters. He
was detained again on April 18.
The opposition will continue with their twice-weekly protests until
the government halts the rise in food and fuel prices, said John Ken
Lukyamuzi, the chairman of a coalition of four opposition parties.
“Our resolve is still strong to continue with protests until government
addresses the issues at hand,” he said in a phone interview.
Besigye, who was the presidential candidate for an opposition
coalition known as the Inter-Party Coalition in a Feb. 18 election,
rejected the outcome of the vote, claiming incumbent President
Yoweri Museveni was fraudulently re-elected. Uganda, with a
population of more than 30 million, is Africa’s largest producer of
robusta coffee.
Courtesy
Besigye Over Protest
21 April, 2011 | By Fred Ojambo (Bloomberg)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Ugandan authorities
arrested the country’s main
opposition leader for the
third time this month after he
attempted to walk to his
office in protest at the rising
cost of living, the police said.
- Kizza Besigye was detained
about 2 miles north of the
capital, Kampala, as he
attempted to walk after
Judith Nabakooba, a police spokeswoman, said by phone from the
city. She didn’t have details on what charges Besigye would face.
“He was arrested as he was moving with a group of people,”
Nabakooba said.
Demonstrations have been organized in Uganda to denounce surging
prices for staple foods and gasoline, after inflation in the East African
nation accelerated to 11.1 percent in March, from 6.4 percent a
month earlier. The government has vowed to detain the protesters
because they are acting “outside the law and accepted norms of
society,” Internal Affairs Minister Kirunda Kivejinja said on April 19.
Protests have also been held in neighboring Kenya over rising food
and fuel costs. On April 19, about 200 people marched through the
center of the capital, Nairobi, to present a petition to the government
demanding lower prices. Kenya’s government announced a
reduction in fuel taxes a day before the demonstration.
Budget Interference
Uganda isn’t planning to lower tariffs on fuel like Kenya because this
would interfere with the country’s budget, Kivejinja said on April 19.
On April 11, Besigye was arrested for blocking traffic while taking
part in a so-called walk-to-work demonstration. Three days later, at
a similar demonstration, Besigye’s hand was injured after police
sprayed teargas and fired rubber bullets to disperse protesters. He
was detained again on April 18.
The opposition will continue with their twice-weekly protests until
the government halts the rise in food and fuel prices, said John Ken
Lukyamuzi, the chairman of a coalition of four opposition parties.
“Our resolve is still strong to continue with protests until government
addresses the issues at hand,” he said in a phone interview.
Besigye, who was the presidential candidate for an opposition
coalition known as the Inter-Party Coalition in a Feb. 18 election,
rejected the outcome of the vote, claiming incumbent President
Yoweri Museveni was fraudulently re-elected. Uganda, with a
population of more than 30 million, is Africa’s largest producer of
robusta coffee.
Courtesy
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