Besigye says Uganda protests to continue

Uganda opposition leader Kizza Besigye on Sunday maintained that the walk to work protests would continue until the government addresses the rising cost of fuel and food.

Addressing the press at Nairobi Hospital where he is recuperating following injuries he suffered during the protests last Thursday, the Forum for Democratic Change leader denied allegations by President Museveni that he was armed and attacked security officers provoking his violent arrest last Thursday.

“I obviously did not have any spray. As I have said, the guiding principle of the protests is non-violence,” Dr Besigye said.

Speaking with some slight difficulty, the opposition leader appealed to his supporters not to take revenge on the plain clothed police officer who was captured on camera smashing the windows of his four-wheel drive vehicle and spraying pepper gas on him during his violent arrest on Thursday.

“I have heard reports while here that the police officer is being hunted down for harm, I have contacted our people to make a statement that we have no retribution,” said Dr Besigye who was accompanied by family members and FDC official Ms Anne Mugisha.

Doctors attending to the opposition leader, led by Dr Timothy Byakika said Dr Besigye had recorded some improvement and was having “reasonable” vision.

“Dr Besigye suffered chemical irritation of serious severity and on Friday evening, we took him to the theatre and cleaned the remnants of chemicals in the eye. The treatment is still going on but there is some improvement,” said Dr Byakika.

It had been feared that Dr Besigye could have suffered loss of sight after security officers sprayed pepper gas directly into his eyes as they violently arrested him.

The doctors however assured that he was on his way to recovery and that he would be out of hospital in the next four to five days.

Life in danger
Dr Besigye said that his life was in danger but added that he would not be cowed from addressing problems facing Ugandans.

The opposition leader was admitted to the hospital on Friday night after Museveni’s government dramatically reversed a declared decision to block him from flying out for further medical management after being pushed by foreign diplomats in the country’s capital.

Entebbe Airport officials had earlier turned away an ambulance that drove Dr Besigye to the Airport citing a telephone call “from above”.

Reports in the Ugandan media said a top Western diplomat had watched in horror as Dr Besigye was stalked and harassed by suspected security officials, including the very officer who had been captured on camera manhandling him on Thursday.

It was reported that President Museveni had personally called to order that Dr Besigye be allowed to travel to Nairobi for further treatment.

The reports quoted FDC women’s League leader Ingrid Turinawe saying they had made distress calls to British and American diplomats in Kampala after security tried to block Dr Besigye who was in “great pain”.

It was not immediately clear if they intervened to have Besigye flown out, a day after top US diplomat for Africa, Johnnie Carson, placed a telephone call to Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa to express Washington’s displeasure at the brutal handling of opposition demonstrators by state security organs.

The Obama administration has reminded Kampala three times since the walk-to-work demonstrations that peaceful demonstrations is a fundamental human right and critical component of functioning democracy.

President Museveni has said the worsening inflation now in double digits within a month was triggered by spiralling fuel prices and fuel shortage due to crop failure on the back of drought – and his government will do nothing to slash fuel taxes.