Lord Mayor of Kampala and Besigye's lawyer Erias Lukwago (left) and ICJ Kenya Programme Manager Julie Matheka addressing journalists in Kilimani, Nairobi after retrieving belongings of Ugandan Opposition leader Kizza Besigye (inset) from Waridi Paradise Hotel in Nairobi.
An acknowledgement by Uganda that Kenya was involved in the abduction of opposition leader Kizza Besigye in Nairobi has raised questions on the handling of the situation by the William Ruto administration.
The government is now facing backlash and reputational damage.
Dr Besigye had gone for a private meeting at Riverside Drive in Nairobi on Saturday, November 16 before he was ambushed by Uganda security agents who bundled him into a four-wheel drive vehicle and drove throughout the night across Kenya. They arrived at Kampala in the wee hours of Sunday morning. He was later charged in a military court.
Kenyan authorities have swung between denying knowledge of the operation and remaining silent, which has raised more questions than answers on the role of local security agencies. More embarrassment was to come after Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni’s Information minister confirmed on Friday that their Kenyan counterparts fully cooperated in the abduction of Dr Besigye that has attracted local and international condemnation.
The security agents, according to People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) Spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemuju Nganda later changed vehicles at the border in Malaba before Dr Besigye was presented in a military court on Wednesday this week. Dr Besigye has for years travelled to Kenya and moved freely, sometimes to attend high-profile events — including in the wake of pro-reforms protests that started in June. At the Nairobi hotel where the opposition leader had booked his stay, his travel documents and his phone were retrieved in perfect condition. His lawyer, who is the Lord Mayor of Kampala Erias Lukwago, on Friday, said his client was taken out of Kenya illegally as most of his travel documents were left behind at the hotel where he stayed.
“We have taken stock of his belongings and we have retrieved the items including the passport that he used to get into the country (Kenya). How did he manage to get out of the country yet his passport is here? He is languishing in prison and it is clear that his rights have been violated,” Mr Lukwago said. The Ugandan opposition politician was scheduled to check out on Wednesday, according to the management of the hotel. On Friday morning, officials drawn from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) had also arrived at the hotel room with a court order which they used to ransack the hotel.
“They came and carried out the search and most of them were from the cybercrime unit but they did not leave behind the search certificate. So it was difficult for us to confirm that everything that belonged to Dr Besigye was left in order,” Mr Lukwago said. He was accompanied by Julie Matheka, the programme manager at the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) who called upon the government to uphold the rule of law.
“The rights of Dr Besigye were violated and all we want is an investigation into what exactly happened. Our parliament should keep off the matter. We call upon the law enforcement to abide by the rules. We cannot have a situation where a person who is lawfully in the country is appearing before another court in a foreign land,” Ms Matheka said.
Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’oei and Interior ministry officials did not immediately respond to Nation. Africa enquiries. With the Ugandan Information ministry confirming Kenya’s role in the saga, questions remain on the nature of the deal between the two countries and if there was full disclosure that he would be charged in the notorious military courts system.
