Kizza Besigye

Warren Kizza Besigye Kifefe (Born on April 22 1956, Rukungiri, Uganda) is a former colonel in the Ugandan army, chairman of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party and was a contestant in Uganda's 2001 and 2006 presidential elections.

Early life and career

Besigye, the second child in a family of six, attended primary school at Kinyasano Primary school and Mbarara Junior School. While at primary school, both his parents died. He did his O-levels at Kitante High School and A-levels at Kigezi High School. In 1975 he joined Makerere University and graduated in 1980 with a Medical degree.

After leaving a medical job in Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi, he underwent military training and joined the 1980-1986 National Resistance Army (NRA) guerilla rebellion against Milton Obote's government. He was responsible for the guerillas' health and particularly attended to the Chairman, Yoweri Museveni.

When Yoweri Museveni became president in 1986, Besigye, then aged 29, was appointed Minister of State for Internal Affairs. In 1988, he was appointed Minister of State in the President's office and National Political Commissar. In 1991, he became Commanding Officer of the Mechanised Regiment in Masaka, and in 1993 he became Chief of Logistics and Engineering. Before his retirement from the army shortly before the 2001 elections, Besigye had risen to the rank of colonel and was a Senior Military Adviser to the Ministry of Defence.

In 1998, Besigye married Winnie Byanyima, a former member of parliament for Mbarara Municipality and the first female aeronautics engineer in Uganda. Winnie Byanyima was also at one time Museveni's girlfriend. Museveni also used to live with the Byanyima family in the 1960s. A boy, Anselm Besigye, was born to Kiiza Besigye and Winnie Byanyima in September 1999.

2001 elections

Prior the 2001 presidential elections, Besigye had become an opponent of Museveni's National Resistance Movement "no-party" system of government, saying that he believed the leadership was "incorrigibly off course", and that "someone had to step in and get things back on course". He advocated for the "Movement System to be viewed as, and to remain a transitional arrangement, rather than entrench it as an alternative political system".

Besigye, viewed as the only viable challenger to Museveni, was one of six candidates, during a campaign that contained much recrimination and bitterness. The other four candidates were; Aggrey Awori, Francis Bwengye, Karuhanga Chapaa and Kibirige Mayanja.

Museveni won the presidential elections by a substantial majority, and incidents of violence occurred following the announcement of the results. On March 23, 2001, Besigye contested the election results in the Supreme Court of Uganda, citing massive rigging and electoral violence by Museveni, but narrowly lost his petition to have the election results nullified. The Supreme Court ruled 5-0 that there was widespread cheating but ruled 3-2 against nullifying the results.

On June 30, 2001, Besigye was briefly detained and questioned by the police, allegedly in connection with the offense of treason. In September he fled to the U.S. saying his life was in danger.

Return from exile and arrest

On October 26, 2005, Besigye returned to Uganda from South Africa, where he had been living. Tens of thousands of his supporters lined the streets from Entebbe International Airport to the capital, Kampala. Besigye's return was in his words "made more precipitate" by the fact that he had to register as a voter before the voter registration deadline in order to be a candidate for the 2006 elections.

Besigye was arrested on November 14, 2005, accused of treason, concealment of treason and rape. The case of treason included his alleged links to the rebel groups, Lord's Resistance Army and People's Redemption Army, and the rape charge referred to an alleged incident in November 1997 involving the daughter of a friend. The arrest led to demonstrations and riots in Kampala and towns around the country. The protesters believed the charges were designed to stop Besigye from challenging the president in 2006 elections.

Besigye's arrest evoked international concern [http://allafrica.com/stories/200511160736.html "Ambassadors Meet Ministers Over Besigye"] , "The Monitor", 16 November, 2005] , as well as criticism from local press, including the state owned New Vision. [http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/14/466105 "Unnecessary own goal"] , "New Vision", 16 November, 2005] The government later banned all public rallies, demonstrations, assemblies or seminars related to the trial of Besigye. [http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=394189 "Ugandan govt bans demonstrations for opposition leader, Besigye"] , "Angola Press", 24 November, 2005] On November 23, the Minister of State for Information, James Nsaba Buturo announced that talk shows and media debates on Besigye's trial were banned, and media houses that did not heed the ban would have their licences revoked. Baturo said that, "Revocation of the licence is something I am very eager to do." [http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15689 "Government bans radio stations from debating opposition leader's trial"] , "Reporters Without Borders", 25 November, 2005]

On November 25, Besigye was granted bail by the High Court, but was sent back to prison because of outstanding military charges facing him at an army Court-martial. [http://za.today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-11-25T154138Z_01_BAN541389_RTRIDST_0_OZATP-UGANDA-OPPOSITION-20051125.XML "Ugandan opposition chief granted bail, but not free"] , "Reuters", 25 November, 2005] The military Court-martial defended his continued detention saying Besigye could escape from the country if released on bail. [http://www.monitor.co.ug/news/news12291.php "Besigye plans to escape, says govt"] , "The Monitor", 29 December, 2005] On January 2 2006 he was released from prison after the High Court ordered his immediate release. [ [http://www.afrika.no/Detailed/11144.html Besigye free at last!] ] On 31 January 2005, the Constitutional Court ruled on a complaint brought by the Uganda Law Society, stating the Besigye could not be tried for terrorism. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4666778.stm Besigye court martial ruled out] , BBC News, 31 January 2006]

On February 1, Ugandan jurors in the rape trial recommended Besigye's acquittal, saying the prosecution had failed to prove its case. Under Ugandan law, the jurors advise the judge but their recommendation is not binding [http://www.irinnews.org/print.asp?ReportID=51477 Jury recommends acquittal of opposition leader in rape case] "IRIN", 1 February, 2006] . On 7 March, 2006, the court cleared Besigye of the rape charge, with Judge John Bosco Katutsi stating, "The state has dismally failed to prove its case against the accused." Testimony given in court indicated that President Museveni had personally instructed the police to investigate the case. Besigye is still accused of treason, and the Ugandan army is appealing the dismissal of their prosecution on terrorism and weapons charges.

February 2006 elections

The general elections of 2006 saw FDC as the main opposition party and Besigye as the main challenger against Museveni for the presidency. Museveni was elected for another five-year tenure, having won 59% of the vote against Besigye's 37%. Besigye, who alleged fraud, rejected the result. The Supreme Court of Uganda later ruled that the election was marred by intimidation, violence, voter disenfranchisement, and other irregularities. However, the Court voted 4-3 to uphold the results of the election. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4750040.stm "Uganda's Museveni wins election"] , "BBC", 25 February 2006]

ee also

*Elections in Uganda
*Politics of Uganda
*Political parties of Uganda

External links

* [http://www.fdcuganda.org/ FDC official site - www.fdcuganda.org]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1191395.stm 2001 Uganda election profile: Dr Kizza Besigye] , BBC News
* [http://africanelections.tripod.com/ug.html Elections in Uganda] , African Elections Database
* [http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=6536&SelectRegion=East_Africa&SelectCountry=UGANDA Profiles of presidential candidates (2001)]
* [http://www.ugandaelections.com/2001_Elections/Besigye/Kiiza_Besigye's_Profile.html Kiiza Besigye's Profile (ugandaelections.com)]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4377858.stm Besigye: Home and ready to run] Nov 1, 2005 article on his return to Uganda including brief biography, BBC News