Uganda detains opposition candidate

EPA Kizza Besigye (C), the leader of the main

opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and the main opposition candidate, greets
supporters as a large group of people follows his vehicle during his last election campaign in
Kampala, Uganda. EPA/DAI KUROKAWA
Kampala - The man hoping to break Yoweri Museveni's 30-year grip on Uganda's presidency was
briefly arrested on Thursday and the government shut down social media sites as voters cast their
ballots under the gaze of police and soldiers in riot gear.
Opposition officials said Kizza Besigye was arrested at dusk on polling day and held for about 30
minutes in the capital Kampala, but despite the tough security there were no reported flare ups of
violence.
All sides accuse each other of stoking tensions and assembling vigilante groups to intimidate rival
candidates, and the leading opposition contenders predicted vote rigging.
Godfrey Mutabazi, head of the Ugandan Communications Commission, told Reuters that Ugandan
authorities had blocked access to Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp services, citing security
concerns.
Some voters in the capital area were frustrated by long delays at polling stations.
Such a day is highly undermined by the lack of free and fair elections, Besigye, 59, told reporters in
the village of Rukungiri in western Uganda.

Museveni, 71, came to power in 1986 after waging a

five-year guerrilla war and many Ugandans credit
him with providing relative peace and economic
stability. He is a staunch U.S. ally, and Ugandan
soldiers lead an African Union peacekeeping force
against Islamist insurgents in Somalia.
After voting, Museveni warned anyone fuelling
unrest would face the full force of the Ugandan
security apparatus.
If anybody tries to bring violence, we shall just get him, put him in the deep freezer until he cools
down and ... the blood pressure comes down, he told reporters in Rushere, his home village.
A senior official at Besigye's Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) said he was arrested on Thursday
while attempting to investigate reports of vote tampering.
Besigye has been arrested on numerous occasions. On Monday, one person was killed and 19
wounded when he was briefly detained and his supporters erected barricades and hurled rocks at
the police, who responded by firing bullets and teargas.
Washington condemned his arrest, saying it called into question whether the election could be
considered free.
Museveni's party was scathing about the arrest. It is worth noting that every time that Besigye is
arrested there are more journalists than policemen, NRM spokesman Mike Sebaulu said.
It is highly irresponsible, as a principal presidential camdidate, to be causing deliberate and
unnessesary tension by undertaking stunts with the sole aim of attracting media attention to his
unproven claims.
Museveni was widely expected to win, although in urban areas young voters demanded change and
blaming him for not tackling endemic corruption or creating jobs.
I was a baby when Museveni came in. Now, even my own children are seeing that same face. Is he
the only one who can rule this country? asked Uthman Kalyango, 32.
Museveni's other major challenger, former prime minister Amama Mbabazi, was a close ally of the
president until a power struggle last year, and also campaigned on promises of reform.
Many voters such as Joel Nyonyintono, a 26-year-old entrepreneur, say they are ashamed of
Uganda's neglected roads and hospitals, and frustrated by the slow pace of change.
We are so far behind. We need to open our eyes and move into the 'now' tense, Nyonyintono said as
he sat near a church in Kampala. But other voters, like 56-year-old fruit vendor Nanteza Beatrice,
said change made them nervous.

We have had peace for a long time and these young people are taking it for granted because they
don't know how it was before, she said, referring to years when Uganda was ruled by Idi Amin and
Milton Obote who became infamous for orchestrating unpredictable violence.
Voting in most polling stations closed at 4 p.m. (1300 GMT) but was extended to 7 p.m. in some
districts due to delays, the electoral commission said. A handful of polling stations will reopen on
Friday, it added.
Reuters
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