Ugandan opposition leader detained after threats to march to electoral commission

Ugandan opposition candidate Kizza Besigye was arrested again by police on Monday, hours after he had vowed to march to the electoral commission to denounce Thursday’s polls which showed he had failed to beat long-serving President Yoweri Museveni in an election that observers say was flawed.

“Today, Besigye had mobilised a group of youth to storm the electoral commission. We had information that they had planned to cause violence in the city,” said police spokesman Patrick Onyango.

President Museveni, in power for 30 years, received nearly 61% of the votes, with Mr Besigye taking 35%.

Foreign observers said the poll was conducted in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.

Africanews correspondent in Uganda, Raziah Athman, confirmed Besigye was arrested and whisked away in a police van as he tried to leave his home in Kasangati ahead of his planned procession to the Electoral Commission headquarters.

The Ugandan opposition leader had been under house arrest since Friday and is currently under detention at a police station on the outskirts of Kampala.

Uganda's Kizza Besigye bundled into a van by police as he attempts to leave his house. https://t.co/29wKEOKo9B pic.twitter.com/6Jq3SKat5p

— Crime Times (@CrimeTimesNGR) February 22, 2016

BREAKING NEWS: Kizza Besigye arrested
this morning from his Kasangati home.#UgandaRiseUp

— Lewis Menya Jakoredo (@LewisMenya) February 22, 2016

Besigye had on Sunday vowed to lead his supporters to the electoral commision after what he described as Uganda’s “most fraudulent electoral process”.

He described the poll as a sham and a creeping military coup.