Saudi Arabia offers condolences to Azerbaijan over plane crash    Interior minister emphasizes enhancing Saudi-Qatari security cooperation    176 teams carry out 1.4 million volunteer hours at Prophet's Mosque in 2024    RCU launches women's football development project    RDIA launches 2025 Research Grants on National Priorities    Damac appoints Portuguese coach Nuno Almeida    GASTAT: Protected land areas grow 7.1% in 2023, making up 18.1% of Kingdom's total land area    Kuwait and Oman secure dramatic wins in Khaleeji Zain 26 Group A action    South Korea becomes 'super-aged' society, new data shows    Trump criticizes Biden for commuting death sentences    Russian ballistic missile attack hits Kryvyi Rih on Christmas Eve    Financial gain: Saudi Arabia's banking transformation is delivering a wealth of benefits, to the Kingdom and beyond    Four given jail terms for Amsterdam violence against football fans    Blake Lively's claims put spotlight on 'hostile' Hollywood tactics    Saudi Awwal Bank inaugurates Prince Faisal bin Mishaal Centre for Native Plant Conservation and Propagation in partnership with Environmental Awareness Society    Five things everyone should know about smoking    Saudi Arabia starts Gulf Cup 26 campaign with a disappointing loss to Bahrain    Gulf Cup: Hervé Renard calls for Saudi players to show pride    Do cigarettes belong in a museum    Marianne Jean-Baptiste on Oscars buzz for playing 'difficult' woman    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Uganda's opposition leader arrested trying to leave his home
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 23 - 02 - 2016

Uganda's main opposition leader was arrested on Monday as he tried to leave his home near the capital, a day after he urged his supporters to protest his house arrest.
Associated Press journalists saw Kizza Besigye being thrown into the back of a blacked-out van and whisked away to an unknown location. A plain-clothes security agent sprayed pepper spray into the face of a journalist.
Besigye had planned to visit the election commission's headquarters in Kampala on Monday to get detailed copies of the results from the country's presidential election. He has also been calling for an independent audit that includes members from the international community.
The election commission announced Saturday that long-time President Yoweri Museveni won the vote with more than 60 percent of the ballots, while Besigye got 35 percent.
Besigye, who has been arrested multiple times in the past week and has been detained at his house since Friday, has alleged massive vote rigging and called the results fraudulent. He has said he may petition the country's supreme court and needs to gather evidence.
On Friday, his supporters took to the streets to protest. Riot police lobbed tear gas and stun grenades at them and fired warning shots from automatic rifles, then chased them through narrow alleys, arresting some.
Besigye later urged his supporters to "use the popular numbers that we have to make sure that the gunmen do not do what they are doing."
"If the regime continues to restrict me, to detain me in my home ... I call upon all of you citizens to protest this," the 59-year-old doctor told reporters Sunday. "At the very minimum let us also stop them from moving," he said, referring to the security forces.
Armed police and plainclothes security officers had been surrounding Besigye's house since last week, allegedly to stop him from leading protests against Museveni's win that could turn violent. The whereabouts of Besigye after his arrest on Monday were not known, said Ssemujju Nganda, a spokesman for his Forum for Democratic Change party.
Museveni on Sunday denied the allegations of vote fraud and vowed to "use both soft and hard means to guard the peace in Uganda." Museveni said there was a threat to burn down Kampala by young people directed by leaders he described as "criminal politicians." Voting on Thursday was marred by lengthy delays in the delivery of polling materials, some incidents of violence as well as a government shutdown of social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, which remained inaccessible until Saturday. Most of the delays happened in areas seen as opposition strongholds, including Kampala.
The election was marked by an "intimidating atmosphere, which was mainly created by state actors," and the election commission lacks independence and transparency, the European Union observer mission said in its preliminary report. — AP


Clic here to read the story from its source.