By Halima Athumani
KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) - Uganda’s head of opposition Kizza Besigye has condemned alleged rough handling of his person by police upon his arrival at Entebbe International Airport.
The former presidential candidate for the Forum for Democratic Change party (FDC) said he was held by his trousers and dragged out of the airport.
“The regime kidnapped a citizen from the airport. I don’t have my luggage. I didn’t pass through the airport. I have my passport but it’s not stamped, I haven’t returned officially,” said Besigye.
He said he was first driven in a civil aviation authority vehicle. He added he was later put in a police vehicle and escorted to his home by six others.
“What happened today is a clear demonstration that there’s a president of the people,” said Besigye, addressing journalists at his home in Kasangati, north of the capital Kampala. “The regime’s role now is to ensure that the president of the people doesn’t get to his people.”
A combined force of military and police personnel was deployed – as is generally the case when the opposition leader returns from abroad -- along the road to the airport preventing any procession potentially planned by FDC party officials to welcome their leader, who was out of the country since August.
Besigye stated that the lesson taken is that Ugandans have withdrawn support and cooperation from what he called “a falling regime”.
“And that’s why we are going to continue rallying our people to do against these imposters, to make sure that no dictator in the future ever emerges in our country,” he said.
The opposition leader, who lost to Yoweri Museveni -- incumbent president since 1986 -- in the February election said police actions were proof that: “Now the regime concedes that this one person has so much authority greater than theirs. That’s a regime that is now besieged by the people of Uganda and that’s why they have to have soldiers everywhere.”
He described the incident at the airport as unfortunate, saying it deters investors from coming to the country.
“The people who are killing investment in Uganda are Museveni and his crew. Anybody trying to invest will want to see the political climate in the country,” he said.
But Uganda police spokesman Andrew Felix Kaweesi told Anadolu Agency over the phone: “We acted as a preventive measure. We picked him from the departure lounge and drove him safely home.”
According to Kaweesi, the police had information that Besigye’s supporters had planned to cause chaos along the Entebbe road.
Besigye still faces treason charges over a fake swearing-in after the February 2016 election.