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Ugandan police arrest opposition leader Ugandan president uses strong-arm tactics during election
(about 3 hours later)
KAMPALA, Uganda — Police in Uganda arrested opposition leader Kizza Besigye at his party’s headquarters Friday after heavily armed police surrounded the building and a helicopter fired tear gas at a crowd. Vote counting continued in the country’s tumultuous elections. KAMPALA, Uganda — President Yoweri Museveni’s security forces used strong-arm tactics in the middle of an election Friday, arresting the main opposition candidate, beating protesters and firing tear gas and stun grenades at them.
Semujju Nganda, a spokesman for Besigye’s Forum for Democratic Change party, said police took Besigye to an unknown location. Afterward, they fired tear gas and live ammunition into the air as warning shots, as well as detonating stun grenades. The United States, which gives financial support to Uganda and helps train its military, was among those condemning the brutal actions. It occurred as voting from Thursday’s election proceeded in two main districts on Friday because ballots and other election materials had not arrived as scheduled on election day. Early returns put Museveni ahead of opposition leader Kizza Besigye, but votes remained to be cast, and counted, in Besigye strongholds.
Besigye, the main rival to President Yoweri Museveni, had been holding a meeting with other leaders of his party, said Ingrid Turinawe, an aide to Besigye. With results from about 23 percent of polling stations across the country counted, Museveni had 62 percent of the vote and Besigye had 33 percent, the election commission said.
“The police basically invaded us,” she said. Police surrounded the headquarters of Besigye’s Forum for Democratic Change party as he was meeting with other leaders of his party, and a helicopter fired tear gas at a crowd outside. Then police moved in and took Besigye, a 59-year-old doctor, to an unknown location, according to Semujju Nganda, a spokesman for the FDC.
Armed police also parked their trucks near the gate of the Kampala home of another presidential candidate, former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi. Josephine Mayanja-Nkangi, a spokeswoman for Mbabazi, said that Mbabazi understood the deployment means he cannot leave his house. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry spoke over the phone Friday with Museveni “to underscore that Uganda’s progress depends on adherence to democratic principles in the ongoing election process,” the U.S. State Department said in a statement.
Protesters erected barricades of stones on the highway leading to Uganda’s only international airport. Police fired tear gas and whacked protesters with sticks. Kerry “expressed his concern about the detentions of ... Besigye and harassment of opposition party members during voting and tallying, and he urged President Museveni to rein in the police and security forces.”
The voting Thursday suffered delays in delivery of voting materials, especially in areas seen as opposition strongholds. Voting was taking place Friday at 36 polling stations in Kampala and the neighboring district of Wakiso where no voting took place on Thursday. The U.S. Embassy said on Twitter that “We strongly condemn the disproportionate police action taken today at FDC HQ in Kampala.”
The government also shut down social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook. But using virtual private networks, or VPNs, many Ugandans are slowly getting back on social media. After Besigye’s arrest, supporters who had been inside the party headquarters joined Besigye supporters in the streets. Riot police lobbed tear gas and stun grenades at them and fired warning shots from automatic rifles, then chased them through narrow alleyways, arresting some. Armored personnel carriers rumbled up and down the main street. A woman and her children fled on a motorbike.
Besigye was briefly arrested late Thursday after visiting a house in Kampala where he suspected ballot-stuffing was taking place. Police said the house was a security facility and accused Besigye of trespassing on government property. In nearby poor neighborhoods, people set up burning barricades which riot police and military police quickly took down. Angry protesters also erected barricades of stones on the highway leading to Uganda’s international airport. Police fired tear gas and whacked protesters with sticks.
In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters that the United States condemned the detention of Besigye on Thursday. Muthoni Wanyeki, Amnesty International’s regional director, noted that the raid represented a “restriction on the rights to freedom as association and peaceful assembly. The security forces must act with restraint.”
“Such an action calls into question Uganda’s commitment to a transparent and free election process, free from intimidation,” Kirby said. “The United States is concerned also by the late opening of many polling stations as well as the government of Uganda’s decision to block several popular social media and mobile money sites here on election day.” Police parked their trucks near the home of presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi, a former prime minister. Josephine Mayanja-Nkangi, a spokeswoman for Mbabazi, said he interpreted the deployment to mean he cannot leave his house.
Besigye’s party was running its own tally center and discovered that some of the results being announced by the election commission are a “concoction,” Turinawe said, noting that the election commission is announcing results according to tallies from polling stations, not according to districts as had been expected. The voting Thursday suffered delays in delivery of voting materials, especially in areas seen as opposition strongholds, and was seen by the opposition as deliberate. Voting was taking place Friday at 36 polling stations in Kampala and the neighboring district of Wakiso.
Provisional results released Friday showed Uganda’s long-time president with an early lead over Besigye. The government had shut down social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook but many Ugandans were circumventing that by using virtual private networks, or VPNs.
Museveni has 62 percent of the vote and Besigye has 33 percent, according to results from about 23 percent of polling stations across the country, as announced by the election commission. Final results are expected Saturday. More than 15 million people were registered to vote, with members of parliament also up for election. Besigye was also briefly arrested late Thursday after visiting a house in Kampala where he suspected ballot-stuffing was taking place. Police said the house was a security facility and accused Besigye of trespassing on government property.
Gerald Bareebe, a political science scholar at the University of Toronto who is now back home in Uganda, said he had educated scores of Ugandans about free apps to help them override the social media shutdown. Museveni, 71, took power in 1986 and pulled Uganda out of years of chaos after a guerrilla war. He is a key U.S. ally on security matters, especially in Somalia. Hs critics worry he may want to rule for life, and accuse him of using security forces to intimidate and harass the opposition.
He said those who get back on Twitter, for example, have “the feeling that you have overpowered the mighty state.”
Museveni, 71, took power in 1986 and pulled Uganda out of years of chaos. He is a key U.S. ally on security matters, especially in Somalia. Hs critics worry he may want to rule for life, and accuse him of using security forces to intimidate and harass the opposition.
Besigye, 59, was Museveni’s personal physician during a bush war and served as deputy interior minister in Museveni’s first Cabinet. He broke with the president in 1999, saying Museveni was no longer a democrat.Besigye, 59, was Museveni’s personal physician during a bush war and served as deputy interior minister in Museveni’s first Cabinet. He broke with the president in 1999, saying Museveni was no longer a democrat.
A few other African leaders, including in Zimbabwe, Angola and Rwanda, have also stayed in power for multiple terms, causing rancor among some citizens who feel they have overstayed, using the levers of power to remain in office.
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AP journalist Ben Curtis contributed to this report.AP journalist Ben Curtis contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.