Besigye’s abduction raises concern over Kenyan border security

Dr Kizza Besigye was remanded to Luzira Prison on Wednesday following his appearance before a military court in Makindye, Kampala.

Before being taken to court, he was held in military custody after being kidnapped and deported from Kenya to Uganda.

Besigye, Uganda’s key political figure, has been charged with illegal firearm possession. He denies this charge as well as the others brought against him and his co-accused, Haji Obeid Lutale.

His arrest has sparked widespread condemnation and debate in Kenya, Uganda, and beyond.

Kisumu Senator Tom Ojienda says Kizza Besigye’s kidnapping in Kenya raises concerns about Kenya’s border security, according to Citizen Digital.

Besigye was in Kenya for the Sunday book launch of Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua, but he was apprehended on Saturday at his apartment in Nairobi’s Riverside neighbourhood.

Ojienda on Thursday described Besigye’s case as worrying, supporting claims by government officials that there was no knowledge of the Ugandan opposition figure’s presence in Kenya.

“Besigye came to Kenya undercover; he came to Kenya as a private citizen and instead of going to a hotel, he went into an apartment from where he was abducted,” the senator told Citizen TV’s Day Break program on Thursday.

“There was no information on the government’s part about at what point he entered the country. He was supposed to attend a book fair organised by Martha Karua but was not in attendance.”

Ojienda, who sits in the Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations, added that “the worrying trend is access; whether Kenya’s border points are porous and you can’t notice certain personalities come in.”

“He was taken out of Kenya illegally, but he is facing a legal process in Uganda stemming from things he did before coming here… as a region, we need to know how we should treat individuals who have committed crimes in their country and run to another country to hide”

Ojienda said Kenyan security officials should not be entirely blamed for Besigye’s abduction, arguing that there is a possibility the Ugandan security agents who reportedly abducted him might just have entered Kenya because the East African Community (EAC) Common Market regulations ensure that citizens of the EAC can move freely within the region.

“With the East African passport, movement within these countries is open without discrimination. That makes it hard to stop a Kenyan, Ugandan or Tanzanian from moving to the next country,” said Ojienda.

“That explains the possibility that these Ugandan mercenaries who came in to abduct Besigye just came into their country, took him and drove away. It is an East Africa issue, not entirely about Kenya. You cannot blame the apparatus here for how movement across East Africa takes place.”

The former FDC president is Uganda’s most imprisoned politician. The current party leader, Patrick Oboi Amuriat, has condemned Kizza’s arrest and demanded his unconditional release.

Besigye, a founder member of FDC Katonga faction, was remanded until December 2.

Additional content from Citizen Digital.