Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye.
The Ugandan government on Friday revealed that their Kenyan counterparts were aware and were involved in the arrest of the country’s opposition leader, Dr Kizza Besigye, in Nairobi.
The revelations added a fresh twist in the saga that has attracted the ire of the United States and human rights activists within and outside Africa.
Uganda's Information and Communication Technology Minister Chris Baryomunsi said the Ugandan government coordinated with Kenyan authorities, and insisted that such cross-border operation could not have occurred without Kenya’s knowledge.
“The government of Uganda was in touch with the government of Kenya. Otherwise, how would you arrest somebody in the middle of Nairobi and then bring him back to Uganda, whether through the airport or land, without the full knowledge and support of the state there in Kenya?” Mr Baryomunsi told Uganda’s NBS TV on Friday morning.
Nairobi had initially denied claims that it was involved - or was even aware - of the seizing of Dr Besigye, saying they not only did not know of his presence in Kenya, but were also not involved in his arrest.
Dr Besigye was in Nairobi on the invite of Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua who was launching her new book, Against the Tide, which was scheduled for November 17.
Dr Besigye was a no-show at the book launch, only for Uganda to arraign him on November 21 at a Uganda military court on four different charges, including the illegal possession of firearms and negotiating to buy arms abroad.
“Many will ask why they didn’t wait for him and why he was arrested in Kenya. It depends on the intelligence the security officials had. Many of us do not consume the intelligence that the people who arrested him had. Like many of us, we have been travelling, and when there were demonstrations in Kenya, I traveled with him on the same plane, but he was not arrested. So, there must be a reason why the security officials arrested him this time,” said Mr Baryomunsi.
Kenya's Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Principal Secretary Dr Korir Sing’oei had dismissed reports indicating that Kenyan security agents may have been involved in the abduction of Dr Besigye.
“Dr Besigye is a frequent visitor; he comes here privately to engage in private business and engagements. What I'm aware of is there are protocols sometimes that relate to the travel of senior government and opposition leaders. Often, they actually inform us of their presence in our countries, they can seek some facilitation at the airports and on that basis we are able to even give them security,” Dr Sing’oei told Citizen TV.
Efforts to reach Dr Sing’oei, Acting Interior Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, his Principal Secretary Dr Raymond Omollo over the remarks by the Ugandan minister were futile as texts and calls to their phones went unanswered.
National Police Service Spokesperson Dr Resila Onyango promised to get back to us, but had not done so by the time of going to press.
The arrest has drawn condemnation from activists, political observers, and the United States, with calls for transparency and adherence to international legal standards in addressing the controversial extradition.
The United States’ Bureau of African Affairs stressed the importance of a clear and open account of the circumstances leading to Dr Besigye's detention.
The Bureau noted it is closely following reports describing the incident as an alleged abduction.
“We are closely following reports on the abduction and transnational rendition of civilian political figures Kizza Besigye and Obeid Lutale from Kenya to Uganda,” the Bureau said in a statement on Thursday.
This, as Dr Besigye on Friday spoke out for the first time about what happened in Nairobi when he and his colleague Hajj Obeid Lutale were abducted last week.
He narrated to a delegation of People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) leaders how they were ambushed by Ugandan security agents who spoke both Swahili and Ugandan languages.
Dr Besigye and Mr Lutale, both PFF members, went missing in Nairobi on November 16 and resurfaced on Wednesday while being arraigned before the General Court Martial in Makindye, Kampala, where they were charged with four different counts of crimes.
The politician narrated that he and Mr Lutale went to Riverside area in Nairobi for a short dinner meeting with unnamed people on Saturday, November 16, ahead of the book launch of former Justice Minister Martha Karua the next day.
"He told us that they left their belongings, including Dr Besigye's passport, in the hotel room and went for a short meeting before the planned dinner," PFF spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda told The Monitor.
It is at this meeting that people, who Dr Besigye said were pretending to be speaking Swahili, ambushed and bundled them into a 4-wheel vehicle with a Kenyan number plate. The opposition leader and Mr Lutale reckon the men were Ugandan security agents camouflaged as Kenyans.
“He told us that these people drove them from Nairobi to Kenya-Uganda border at night and arrived at Malaba at 3am on Sunday. Along the way, they kept making stop-overs. All the way from Nairobi, the abductors kept speaking Swahili. However, when they reached Malaba, one of them said “kandi” then Obeid asked them why all along they didn’t speak any other language,” Mr Ssemujju said.
Mr Lutale, who has been working as Dr Besigye’s logistics officer since 2001 when he launched his first presidential bid, asked the security officers why they were not speaking Ugandan languages. After this, Dr Besigye said, the group started speaking Luganda and Runyankole.
Dr Besigye said they went through the Malaba border post without the usual security checks.
“They only changed vehicles. The vehicle with the Kenyan number plate was left at the Malaba border post and we moved to another vehicle with Ugandan number plate.” said the PFF spokesperson.
