An account of Besigye April 28 arrest
May 03, 2011
ON Thursday, April 28, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) president, Dr. Kizza Besigye was arrested. From video, photography and from talking to the Police officers on the scene, a <i>New Vision</i> team reconstructs the incident. Below are the events as they unfolded;
By Vision Reporter
ON Thursday, April 28, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) president, Dr. Kizza Besigye was arrested. From video, photography and from talking to the Police officers on the scene, a New Vision team reconstructs the incident. Below are the events as they unfolded;
7:30am: The Police received information that Besigye was hitting the road from his house, in the walk-to-work demonstration. The demonstration is illegal and security had outlawed it. Besigye has previously been blocked from walking. The law specifies that if it is an assembly of more than three people, the Police must be notified.
8:00am: It is a drizzly morning. Besigye leaves his home in Kasangati after clashing with the Police led by James Ruhweza, who compel him to use his vehicle instead of walking to the city centre. After a verbal exchange with the Police, Besigye departs in his vehicle with a motorcade of seven other vehicles.
8:10am: As he drives through the Mpererwe areas, his motorcade reduces speed and Besigye emerges from his seat to the open roof and waves at bystanders and returns to his car seat.
8:15am: He arrives at Kalerwe. His motorcade slows down further. Besigye emerges and waves. His vehicle drives towards the roundabout at Kubbiri. Boda boda riders join in and start hooting as they mob his vehicle. He stands from his open-roof SUV and flashes the FDC V-sign. He then briefly addresses journalists from his vehicle. He proceeds to the Kubbiri Roundabout.
8:17am: Besigye returns to his car seat with the windows drown up. Within a minute, a Police vehicle approaches him with the Commander of Kampala Metropolitan Police, Grace Turyagumanawe.
Crowds are attracted to the area by Besigye’s vehicle which remains in the middle of the road as the crowd continues to swell. Police halts Besigye’s advance to the city centre via the Makerere-Kavule route.
8:25am: The Police disperse crowds to avoid accompanying the motorcade. The crowds comprising of mainly youth begin to pelt the Police with stones as well as blocking the road with boulders and sticks while chanting FDC party slogans.
8:31am: Turyagumanawe approaches Besigye whom he talks to. He (Besigye) is advised to use Mulago Hill Road to Yusuf Lule Road, link to the Mukwano Road, to Queensway and to the FDC office in Najjanankumbi.
Besigye insists that he cannot go by the Police directive which he considers unlawful. Turyagumanawe tells Besigye that it is the duty of the Police to protect life and property of the people of Uganda. Besigye insists that he is going to his bank in Wandegeya.
Turyagumanawe tells Besigye that he cannot proceed to the bank with crowds, let alone to Wandegeya, because security cannot ascertain the intentions of the crowd in the Central Business District.
He also tells Besigye that the alternative route is cleared for him and that the Police was empowered to give him directions.
Turyagumanawe tells Besigye that the situation was going out of hand and that they had to move. Besigye yields. The Police direct the motorcade to the Mulago Hill Road, instead of the earlier planned route of Makerere-Kavule.
As the motorcade moves, Besigye waves to the people from his open-roof. The crowd swells further as he approaches the Mulago Roundabout.
8:43am: At the Mulago Roundabout, a traffic Police officer waves Besigye’s motorcade to a halt and directs the vehicles towards the Yusuf Lule Road instead of continuing to Wandegeya centre. An exchange ensues between Besigye and the Police, attracting more crowds. Besigye insists he cannot go by the Police directions and has to go to Wandegeya to the bank.
The verbal duel lasts close to two hours, drawing in more crowds who chant FDC slogans and hurl insults at the Police.
The Police restrains from using tear gas to disperse the crowd that threatens to be riotous. At this point, the flow of traffic is disrupted for some minutes since the car in which Besigye is travelling, is in the middle of the road.
The Police, however, manage to secure passage for vehicles coming from Mulago and Kamwokya directions, which use one of the lanes. The human traffic keeps on flowing to the scene to witness the exchange between Besigye and the Police.
10: 25am: The standoff continues but takes on a different tempo. Plain-clothes Police officers move in to arrest Besigye. But the move is forestalled by a group of FDC youth who mount onto the vehicle and kick at the Police.
The youth are overpowered by the Police and are arrested. At the end of the violent encounter, Besigye’s car window screens are cracked.
10:36am: From within his car, Besigye is seen holding a hammer and he begins screaming at a man in a blue jacket similar to that of the Police, accusing him of attempting to smash his car window using the hammer. Besigye talks to journalists while photographers and videos capture the exchange.
10:37am: In another scene, a policeman is pulled away by colleagues from the scene with covered eyes. It later emerges that he had been sprayed with pepper.
10:39am: A man in civilian clothes emerges with a pistol. He swiftly moves to the passenger right-hand side of Besigye’s SUV and smashes the window with the butt of a pistol. Besigye is sprayed with pepper.
10:40am: It happens so fast. Besigye emerges from the vehicle wearing goggles and a nose mask to ward off the stinging pepper sprayed at him. His aides who include Francis Mwijukye as well as the driver only identified as Kato, come out of the vehicle and are led to a waiting police van.
10:41am: The plain-clothes security officer holds Besigye by the shirt-sleeve and leads him onto a waiting Police pick-up truck. He is then pushed under the seats and whisked away together with his aides Francis Mwijukye inclusive.
ON Thursday, April 28, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) president, Dr. Kizza Besigye was arrested. From video, photography and from talking to the Police officers on the scene, a New Vision team reconstructs the incident. Below are the events as they unfolded;
7:30am: The Police received information that Besigye was hitting the road from his house, in the walk-to-work demonstration. The demonstration is illegal and security had outlawed it. Besigye has previously been blocked from walking. The law specifies that if it is an assembly of more than three people, the Police must be notified.
8:00am: It is a drizzly morning. Besigye leaves his home in Kasangati after clashing with the Police led by James Ruhweza, who compel him to use his vehicle instead of walking to the city centre. After a verbal exchange with the Police, Besigye departs in his vehicle with a motorcade of seven other vehicles.
8:10am: As he drives through the Mpererwe areas, his motorcade reduces speed and Besigye emerges from his seat to the open roof and waves at bystanders and returns to his car seat.
8:15am: He arrives at Kalerwe. His motorcade slows down further. Besigye emerges and waves. His vehicle drives towards the roundabout at Kubbiri. Boda boda riders join in and start hooting as they mob his vehicle. He stands from his open-roof SUV and flashes the FDC V-sign. He then briefly addresses journalists from his vehicle. He proceeds to the Kubbiri Roundabout.
8:17am: Besigye returns to his car seat with the windows drown up. Within a minute, a Police vehicle approaches him with the Commander of Kampala Metropolitan Police, Grace Turyagumanawe.
Crowds are attracted to the area by Besigye’s vehicle which remains in the middle of the road as the crowd continues to swell. Police halts Besigye’s advance to the city centre via the Makerere-Kavule route.
8:25am: The Police disperse crowds to avoid accompanying the motorcade. The crowds comprising of mainly youth begin to pelt the Police with stones as well as blocking the road with boulders and sticks while chanting FDC party slogans.
8:31am: Turyagumanawe approaches Besigye whom he talks to. He (Besigye) is advised to use Mulago Hill Road to Yusuf Lule Road, link to the Mukwano Road, to Queensway and to the FDC office in Najjanankumbi.
Besigye insists that he cannot go by the Police directive which he considers unlawful. Turyagumanawe tells Besigye that it is the duty of the Police to protect life and property of the people of Uganda. Besigye insists that he is going to his bank in Wandegeya.
Turyagumanawe tells Besigye that he cannot proceed to the bank with crowds, let alone to Wandegeya, because security cannot ascertain the intentions of the crowd in the Central Business District.
He also tells Besigye that the alternative route is cleared for him and that the Police was empowered to give him directions.
Turyagumanawe tells Besigye that the situation was going out of hand and that they had to move. Besigye yields. The Police direct the motorcade to the Mulago Hill Road, instead of the earlier planned route of Makerere-Kavule.
As the motorcade moves, Besigye waves to the people from his open-roof. The crowd swells further as he approaches the Mulago Roundabout.
8:43am: At the Mulago Roundabout, a traffic Police officer waves Besigye’s motorcade to a halt and directs the vehicles towards the Yusuf Lule Road instead of continuing to Wandegeya centre. An exchange ensues between Besigye and the Police, attracting more crowds. Besigye insists he cannot go by the Police directions and has to go to Wandegeya to the bank.
The verbal duel lasts close to two hours, drawing in more crowds who chant FDC slogans and hurl insults at the Police.
The Police restrains from using tear gas to disperse the crowd that threatens to be riotous. At this point, the flow of traffic is disrupted for some minutes since the car in which Besigye is travelling, is in the middle of the road.
The Police, however, manage to secure passage for vehicles coming from Mulago and Kamwokya directions, which use one of the lanes. The human traffic keeps on flowing to the scene to witness the exchange between Besigye and the Police.
10: 25am: The standoff continues but takes on a different tempo. Plain-clothes Police officers move in to arrest Besigye. But the move is forestalled by a group of FDC youth who mount onto the vehicle and kick at the Police.
The youth are overpowered by the Police and are arrested. At the end of the violent encounter, Besigye’s car window screens are cracked.
10:36am: From within his car, Besigye is seen holding a hammer and he begins screaming at a man in a blue jacket similar to that of the Police, accusing him of attempting to smash his car window using the hammer. Besigye talks to journalists while photographers and videos capture the exchange.
10:37am: In another scene, a policeman is pulled away by colleagues from the scene with covered eyes. It later emerges that he had been sprayed with pepper.
10:39am: A man in civilian clothes emerges with a pistol. He swiftly moves to the passenger right-hand side of Besigye’s SUV and smashes the window with the butt of a pistol. Besigye is sprayed with pepper.
10:40am: It happens so fast. Besigye emerges from the vehicle wearing goggles and a nose mask to ward off the stinging pepper sprayed at him. His aides who include Francis Mwijukye as well as the driver only identified as Kato, come out of the vehicle and are led to a waiting police van.
10:41am: The plain-clothes security officer holds Besigye by the shirt-sleeve and leads him onto a waiting Police pick-up truck. He is then pushed under the seats and whisked away together with his aides Francis Mwijukye inclusive.