By Jude Kafuma

OPPOSITION Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) president Kizza Besigye was on Thursday attacked by a man as he addressed a rally in Gomba, Mpigi district.

At a press conference yesterday, Besigye said he was attacked on Thursday evening while addressing a rally at Maddu trading centre in Gomba county.

“As I was addressing the gathering from the open-roof of my car, a man jumped out of the crowd onto the bonnet of my vehicle and shouted ‘you are under arrest," Besigye told journalists.

“The attacker grabbed me and tried to strangle me but I managed to push him away from the vehicle. He pulled my shirt and tore it. He later fell down and was held by my aides.”

The Police spokesperson for central region, Lamek Kigozi, confirmed the incident took place, saying the attacker was being held by Maddu Police. “Yes the incident transpired after some witnesses from the crowd attacked Besigye over utterances about the issue of selling Lake Kyoga,” Kigozi told Saturday Vision.

“The crowd later turned rowdy and one man, identified as Bisaso, jumped onto Besigye’s car in protest of the utterances.”

Asked why he addressed a rally at that late hour, the FDC leader said he went to Maddu after a series of meetings with party supporters and leaders in the area.
Because it was getting dark, he explained, he was straight away invited to address the gathering that had waited for him since 3:00pm.

Besigye, flanked by party officials from Buganda region, told journalists that the scuffle started with heckling around his vehicle but he continued until he saw the man jump onto the bonnet.

“A pistol fell out of his trousers when I pushed him off the car. During the scuffle to get the attacker away, the pistol was picked by unknown persons,” he added.

The FDC president said they briefed the party security officials about the incident to help the Police investigate the matter. Besigye claimed that the attack was planned, accusing the Police of failing to act.

“This was a plan to attack and injure all of us but the large and enthusiastic crowd saved us as the Police looked on,” he said.

He added that his convoy was pursued and that unknown people hurled stones at the vehicle of the FDC foreign affairs secretary, Mukalazi Kibuuka, leaving the windscreen smashed and its occupants slightly injured.

Asked whether he reported the matter to the Police, Besigye said: “It was useless to report to the Police when even the officer who was at the scene never assisted us.”

Saturday Vision contacted the Mpigi district Police commander, Justus Asiimwe, who also confirmed the incident: “The attacker, John Bisaso, presented himself to the Police station as a peasant farmer of Maddu in Gomba.”

He noted that a team of Police officers has been deployed in the area to investigate the incident and establish whether the attacker was assaulted by the crowd or annoyed by Besigye’s statements.

“Some witnesses say Bisaso attacked the colonel after he furiously talked about the sale of Lake Kyoga. Yet, others say it is the crowd that attacked Bisaso because he retorted to the FDC president during the address,” the Mpigi DPC told Saturday Vision.