Police release Besigye, more rallies planned

KAMPALA, FRIDAY

Ugandan police said they had released the country’s main opposition leader and several of his allies after detaining the group to stop them leading an anti-government rally in the capital.

Veteran leader Yoweri Museveni last year accused rival Kizza Besigye of inciting unrest and cracked down hard on a wave of opposition-led protests led by his one-time political ally.

"We had arrested them as a preventive measure to stop them from causing chaos and disrupting public peace and order," deputy police spokeswoman Judith Nabakooba told Reuters.

"We later got satisfied that they were no longer a threat to public order and we decided to release them," she said.

Armed police intercepted Besigye, who heads the Forum for Democratic Change party, and other opposition politicians as they headed towards the demonstration venue.

A protracted standoff ensued, ending after police fired a single teargas canister that scattered a small crowd, and bundled the politicians into vans.

– Reuters