Uganda: Opposition figure Kizza Besigye denied bail

More than a year after he was detained, Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye has been denied bail by the country’s high court.

Besigye has been charged with treason due to accusations he planned to oust the country’s longtime president Yoweri Museveni by force.

During a court session on Tuesday, he described the allegations against him as persecution.

“This is really a persecution, it is not a prosecution; it is like I am being tried by the prosecutors and the persecutors I have faced for 20 years now. I have been charged with treason. I don’t know how many times I have been charged with treason, treason that has never been tried. I am tired of this persecution,” Besigye argued.

The 68 year old has been in custody since November last year when he went missing in the Kenyan capital Nairobi.

Some legal experts say that he and other Ugandan opposition leaders are being unfairly denied bail; among them is Sarah Bireete, Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Governance.

“The state will argue that those who are incarcerated have cases to answer although they cannot explain why opposition leaders in Uganda can no longer access bail from court on bailable offenses even when they meet the other conditions for bail as provided in our judicial guidelines,” Bireete stated.

The court’s decision comes weeks before Uganda is set to hold its general election. President Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, is expected to win the upcoming ballot, giving him another five years in power.