Uganda opposition figure Besigye appears before military court after disappearing in Kenya

(20 Nov 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

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ASSOCIATED PRESS
Kampala – 20 November 2024
1. Military vehicles driving into court compound
2. Various of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye and a colleague being led into the military courtroom as supporters chant
3. Wide of Besigye walking into the dock
4. Wide of court martial judges
5. Various of Besigye behind the dock
6. Besigye’s lawyer giving submissions
7. Wide of Judges reading out charges against Besigye
8. Besigye walking out of dock
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Erias Lukwago, Besigye’s Lawyer:
"Well, he has been arraigned on four counts. One, being in possession of firearms illegally – a pistol and also ammunitions, and having plotted to indulged in subversive activities in Greece, in Switzerland and Kenya. That is basically what has happened here, there are four counts relating to those issues and he has been charged under Martial Law, which is really very unfortunate because he is not a serving officer.”
10. Besigye’s family, friends and supporters outside the court
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Erias Lukwago, Besigye’s Lawyer:
"For his liberty to be curtailed in a sovereign state like Kenya and no actions being taken by the Kenyan government against the sister country, violating the territorial integrity of Kenya, that is a very serious matter. And we are not going to let it lie down. Because the government of Uganda violated the territorial integrity of Kenya. And if they do not raise any issue about that, obviously it means they are complicit to what is happening and it’s the reason we are going to put them to task."
12. Various of Besigye’s sister, Olive Kobusingye (in pink) with other supporters
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Olive Kobusingye, Besigye’s sister:
"If the person is in some hands somewhere they are not under a known recognized authority and they show up here, it’s very concerning its very distressing"
14. Various of Besigye leaving court and driven off in military vehicles
STORYLINE:
Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye appeared Wednesday in a military court in Uganda days after he was reported missing during a book launch in Kenya.

He was charged with possession of an illegal firearm.

The former president of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party also was charged with seeking military support from abroad to destabilize Uganda’s military forces.

Besigye was produced in the Ugandan court four days after he went missing in Nairobi and hours after his wife claimed he had been kidnapped.

He was charged alongside FDC member Hajj Lutale Kamulegeya.

The pair, who deny all charges against them, were remanded in custody until Dec. 2.

Besigye, who at first appeared without lawyers, rejected government legal representation and said he was not a member of the armed forces and should be tried in a civilian court.

His wife Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of UNAIDS, wrote on the social platform X on Wednesday that her husband was “kidnapped” on Saturday in Kenya and that she was “reliably informed” that he was being held in a military jail.

The Ugandan government has not commented.

Korir Singoei, Kenya’s foreign affairs permanent secretary, told local media that Kenya was not involved in the alleged incident.

Besigye, a fierce critic of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, has faced arrest and assault on previous occasions.

He was once Museveni’s personal doctor and has contested and lost four presidential elections.

AP video by Patrick Onen

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