I am better off dying fighting to oust Museveni - Besigye

PIC: Former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Presidential candidate, Col. Kizza Besigye

Former Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Presidential candidate, Col. Kizza Besigye has said he is not about to abandon the fight to free Uganda from President Yoweri Museveni's dictatorship.

Besigye explained that his goals is to remove Museveni and restore the rule of law in the country to ensure people's rights and freedoms are respected and national resources applied for the benefit of all.

He made the remarks while appearing on the BBC Focus on Africa on Friday where he was hosted by Akwasi Sarpong. The discussion centred on Besigye's personal and political challenges in Uganda.

"I am better off dying doing something to change the situation than dying at the whims of some few people who monopolise power in this country," Besigye said.  

Besigye also indicated that he understands the consequences of fighting to unseat a dictatorship and that when he first took on the task in the 1970s, he was prepared for it.

"I met my wife in the struggle and she is committed to what I am doing and my children have grown to understand what I am going through," Besigye said.

But government's spokesperson Ofwono Opondo scoffed at Besigye and sarcastically wished him luck. Opondo asked Ugandans not to believe Besigye's stories.

Besigye also told BBC that his struggle to free Uganda did not start during President Museveni's reign and saluted his colleagues who have died in the struggle.

"This whole story started with me being brutalised for not doing anything. I had set out to be a doctor but I realised I was living in a country where anytime someone would choose to end my life or to torture me," he said.

"I had no country I could call mine in which my rights were respected that I couldn't even choose the person to lead my country," he added.

It's that background Besigye says he used to pick up guns and join his colleagues in the bush to unseat the dictatorship and usher a new democratic era in Uganda.  Besigye's remarks are a clear confession that he has started gearing up for the 2021 Presidential elections.