By Aggrey Baba
Addressing the media on Monday, the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) demanded answers from Kenyan President William Ruto over the role of his government in the arrest and transfer of opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye from Nairobi to Uganda, asking bluntly how much President Yoweri Museveni paid for the operation.
“How much did Mr Museveni pay you? What deal did you sign?” the PFF asked Ruto during a press conference at its headquarters.
The party accused the Kenyan government of abandoning its long-standing reputation as a refuge for political dissidents and instead allowing its security agencies to be used in an operation to deliver a Ugandan opposition leader into the hands of President Museveni’s security apparatus.
The remarks were delivered by PFF Deputy Secretary General Harold Kaija on behalf of party chairman Dr Michael Lulume Bayiga, who arrived at the press conference about 25 minutes after it had started.
The PFF’s anger centres on the circumstances surrounding Besigye’s November 2024 arrest in Nairobi and his subsequent appearance before the courts martial on treason-related charges.
PFF questioned why Besigye, who was in Kenya, was not subjected to formal extradition proceedings if the Ugandan government had a legitimate case against him.
“You did not arrest Besigye. You abducted him. No warrant, no extradition hearing, no judge in Kenya,” the PFF said.
According to the Katonga-Road-based-party, the alleged involvement of Kenyan security agencies is now particularly significant because of testimony recently given in the High Court by a prosecution witness, Wilson Andrew (Orlando).
Andrew Wilson told Justice Emmanuel Baguma that the Riverside Apartments room (Kenya) where Besigye and his aide Obeid Lutale were arrested had been pre-arranged. He also testified that Kenyan police had taken them to the room and placed guns inside.
When asked whether the firearms had been planted, the witness responded that it “looks like it.”
The PFF seized on that testimony to question the conduct of the Kenyan authorities, arguing that it was evidence of a wider operation in which Besigye was deliberately lured into meetings and subsequently implicated in a criminal plot.
Kaija accused Ruto’s administration of turning Kenya into what he called a “kidnapping for hire market,” contrasting the development with Kenya’s historical role in providing refuge to Ugandan political figures.
“Kenya was the land of refuge, where Jaramogi Odinga gave refuge to Ugandans,” Kaija said, invoking the country’s history as a centre of East African political activity and liberation movements.
The PFF also warned that the precedent created by Besigye’s case could affect Kenyan opposition politicians.
“If you can sell Besigye today, you will sell Sifuna, you will sell Karua tomorrow,” Kaija said.
It further accused the Kenyan government of compromising its sovereignty by allowing its police to participate in an operation allegedly organized at the request of Uganda.
“A government that rents its police to a dictator has lost sovereignty,” He declared.
The PFF’s accusations come as the prosecution continues with its case against Besigye, Lutale and UPDF officer Capt Denis Oola, whom the State accuses of participating in activities aimed at overthrowing the Ugandan government.
The party, however, maintains that the charges are politically motivated and that the evidence emerging from court has exposed what it considers a manufactured operation.
The PFF consequently demanded that the Kenyan government explain its role in Besigye’s transfer and challenged the Kenyan President to account for the alleged cooperation between Kenyan and Ugandan security agencies.
The party also called for Besigye and the other opposition figures charged alongside him to be released, maintaining that they are being held as political prisoners rather than prosecuted for genuine criminal offences.
