He was arrested – for the eleventh time – on June 14 in the capital Kampala when he led protests against soaring consumer prices.
A Ugandan court released veteran opposition figure Kizza Besigye on bail on Friday after serving two weeks in prison awaiting trial on charges of inciting violence.
Besigye, 66, was arrested on June 14 in the capital Kampala as he led protests against soaring consumer prices. He was charged with inciting violence the next day and his initial bail application, which was made that day, was denied.
On Friday, his lawyers applied for bail again and a judge ordered Besigye’s release and said he was “satisfied that the defendant’s reassurance is substantial,” according to a statement. Besigye’s Facebook account live video feed of court proceedings.
The opposition will pay 2.5 million Kenyan shillings ($665) as one of the conditions for his release. He was ordered to appear in court again on July 29.
Ugandans have expressed widespread anger at the dramatic rise in prices of fuel, cooking oil, soap, wheat and other commodities and the government’s refusal to intervene to alleviate consumer spending.
Besigye has called for tax cuts to offset rising inflation, but President Yoweri Museveni dismissed the idea, blaming high prices due to the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Museveni, in power since 1986, is now Africa’s fourth longest-ruling leader and the opposition and critics have accused him of rigging polls and using security forces to maintain his hold on power. Museveni denied the allegations.
Besigye has faced Museveni four times in the past and lost all of them, although he has denied the results with allegations of cheating. He has arrested many times in the past.
