By Hassan Isilow
JOHANNESBURG (AA) - Uganda’s leading opposition figure Kizza Besigye has been arrested by police in the capital Kampala, his party said in a statement on Monday.
Besigye was arrested for leading a march of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) supporters from the city center to the parties headquarters on the outskirts.
FDC supporters and their leaders had previously been blocked by police from gathering at the Mandela National Stadium in Kampala where they were scheduled to hold a party conference, before Besigye decided to lead his party followers in a procession to their party head offices.
Local media reported that security forces fired teargas at the crowd and that Besigye refused police who ordered him to come out from his vehicle during the procession, prompting them to break the car windows and forcefully remove its occupants.
"Dr. Besigye and his team have been removed from his car through the windows and taken to unknown destination," according to a statement by the FDC.
The statement further added that Besigye’s car had been badly damaged with all windows shattered and posted images of the white SUV being towed away.
Besigye is a strong political rival of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in office since 1986 and previously served as Museveni’s personal doctor during the 1980s' guerrilla war which brought him to power.
He later fell out with his former boss and has since challenged him four times in election campaigns.
Though no longer the president of the main opposition party FDC, he remains instrumental in its political activities.
- Journalists arrested
Earlier on Monday, police also fired tear gas and rubber bullets at a group of journalists who were protesting alleged police brutality.
"This morning we were marching to the police offices in Naguru [a district of Kampala] to petition police brutality against our colleagues when we were attacked by police and bundled on vans and driven to the Central Police station in Kampala," Abubakar Lubowa, a journalist in Kampala, told Anadolu Agency.
He said some of his colleagues were injured during the incident. The journalists were demonstrating against recent increased attacks police targeting them while the covering other protests. Lubowa said several journalists had recently been injured after being beaten by either police or the military.
Uganda Police spokesperson Fred Enanga told Anadolu Agency security forces only took Besigye from the crowd under a preventative arrangement and have not arrested him.
"There are no charges being preferred against him. We took him from the crowd and will later escort him to his home," Enanga said from the capital Kampala.
He added that the opposition FDC party had not obtained police authorization to hold their conference as required by the country’s law.
"The assembly was unlawful. It was in defiance of the law," said Enanga.