Nobody can stop defiance - Besigye

Kampala.

Opposition leader Kizza Besigye yesterday maintained that his party’s “defiance campaign” would go on despite police’s vow to crash it.
“Let it be known that this defiance campaign is not going to stop whatsoever. The defiance campaign will go on until the NRM regime goes down. Without any doubt, it is going to go on until the NRM regime collapses,” Dr Besigye told journalists at his home in Kasangati in Wakiso District.

He said those fighting the “defiance campaign” were behaving like a minister in Idi Amin’s government who ordered the arrest of “foreign exchange” after the former head of state had been told there was no money for specified government projects because there was no foreign exchange.

Amin reportedly thought “foreign exchange” was an official in the Central Bank who was sabotaging government activities and he ordered his arrest, only to be told it just meant money.

“This I think indeed is the epitome of abuse of power and criminality of our institutions, to simply disrupt, brutalise innocent people going to pray. I hope that all right thinking citizens will condemn it. I hope that all citizens of the world will condemn what is going in Uganda,” Dr Besigye said.

He was flanked by FDC chairperson Wasswa Biriggwa and party deputy president Joyce Nabbosa Ssebuggwawo. Dr Besigye reiterated that the party’s scheduled May 5 demonstrations would go on.

“The activities of May 5 will go on as planned by the party; they will go on all over the country. We shall see who really Uganda belongs to. If it belongs to Mr Museveni and his cohorts, they will prevail, if it belongs to citizens of Uganda, the citizens will prevail. Watch the space,” Dr Besigye said.

The demonstration is one of the FDC activities outlawed in a controversial order issued by Deputy Chief Justice Steven Kavuma. Last Friday, Justice Kavuma banned FDC “defiance activities,” including the weekly prayers at the party headquarters at Najjanankumbi on Entebbe Road. The judge also ordered that any media which would give coverage to activities relating to the “defiance” campaign would be held liable.

Earlier in the day before Dr Besigye’s press conference, Inspector General of Police Kale Kayihura said police had put the Opposition leader under close surveillance because of his continued defiance campaign and mobilising people to engage in what he termed as unlawful assemblies.

“We have not put him (Dr Besigye) under house arrest but we have set up a surveillance team because of his public defiance statements,” Gen Kayihura told journalists yesterday at the police headquarters in Naguru, a Kampala suburb.

Quoting article 123 (30) of the Constitution, the police chief insisted that the Force have a duty to ensure court orders are complied with. “Who are you (Dr Besigye) to defy court orders? Why do you want to hold demonstrations on an international highway (Entebbe)? Defying court orders is paramount to overthrowing the Constitution,” he said.
Police forcibly blocked FDC’s weekly prayers and arrested several people, including Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago, Pastor David Happy Ngabo and the suspended Makerere Institute of Social Research fellow, Dr Stella Nyanzi. In total, more than 30 people were arrested.

By 7am, police had taken over the FDC headquarters in Najjanankumbi and were allowing in party officials at the Force’s discretion.

Dr Besigye said it confirmed that there are still some reasonable commanders in the police force, which he said is led by “criminal minded” people.

“The criminality of the police is the work of police leaders not the policemen. The majority of policemen voted for change; they are as disgusted by this regime as we all are. We have criminal leaders in the police, who I believe, will end up in the International Criminal Court,” he said.

By Stephen Kafeero, Joseph Kato & Ebber Aturinde