Dr Kizza Besigye was effectively put under house arrest after police surrounded his home and arrested his wife when she tried to drive out of the gate, his FDC party said yesterday.
Police officers intercepted Dr Besigye’s car outside his gate early in the morning and towed it to Kasangati Police Station – only to discover that it was his wife, Winnie, who was headed to the airport to catch a flight to New York, in the car.
Ms Byanyima was released without charge and returned home after missing her flight but said the opposition leader was not free to move out of his home.


She said the surrounding of their home by police officers was “a form of house arrest” and that Dr Besigye had been denied access to a doctor.
“Nobody has been in here to arrest him but since 6:15am when I tried to go out of the gate on the way to the airport, police have been stationed at our farm gate and are still there and I do not understand why they are here,” she said.
Daily Monitor journalists who visited Dr Besigye’s home in Kasangati, 20 kilometres out of the city centre, at 6pm yesterday saw several police patrol pick-up trucks and dozens of anti-riot police officers in the vicinity.
The police officers threatened journalists and barred them from taking photographs. “We consider Besigye under house arrest,” FDC official Anne Mugisha said, although the police gave different accounts.
Vincent Ssekatte, the deputy police spokesman said: “The police officers are on their normal foot patrol which they do in Kampala every day but he isn’t under house arrest.” He added that Dr Besigye’s car had been towed for violating “routine” traffic police directives.
However, when asked if Dr Besigye was free to leave his house, Mr Ssekatte’s superior, Ms Judith Nabakooba, said: “It would depend on the circumstances.”
She added: “We are trying to prevent lawlessness.” Human rights lawyer Ladislaus Rwakafuuzi told Daily Monitor that blocking a person at their residence without a court order is unlawful.
Dr Besigye has been arrested four times in the last month for participating in the Walk-to-Work protests against the rising cost of living and government wasteful expenditure.
His last arrest was particularly brutal and left him partially blinded, forcing him to seek medical attention in Nairobi. Large crowds turned out to receive him on his return last week and Dr Besigye said he would continue his protests but it appears that yesterday’s police actions could have been intended to stop him.
At least 10 people have been killed and hundreds injured in the protests, staged every Monday and Thursday since April 11.
Human Rights Watch said last week that most of those shot dead by security agencies were not involved in the riots and called for an independent investigation but none has been announced so far.
Reported by Andrew Bagala, Isaac Kasamani & Isaac Imaka
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