Uganda opposition leader arrested

Uganda’s main opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been arrested for the third time in a week, as provisional results gave veteran President Yoweri Museveni an early lead in an election overshadowed by persistent claims of vote-rigging. Witness saw Besigye and several of his supporters loaded in the back of a police van. Earlier in the […]

Uganda’s main opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been arrested for the third time in a week, as provisional results gave veteran President Yoweri Museveni an early lead in an election overshadowed by persistent claims of vote-rigging.
Witness saw Besigye and several of his supporters loaded in the back of a police van. Earlier in the afternoon police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse Besigye supporters outside the headquarters of his Forum for Democratic Change party.
Partial results announced by the electoral commission showed Museveni had taken nearly 62 per cent of the vote – far ahead of Besigye with 33 per cent, after about 23 percent of the votes had been counted.
The final election results are expected to be announced on Saturday.
Election day on Thursday was dominated by claims of vote-rigging and a previous Besigye arrest when he and his supporters tried to show journalists what they said was a vote-rigging operation in a suburban house.