Tension is high in Mubende Municipality where Dr. Kizza Besigye, the former Forum For Democratic Change (FDC) party president is locked up in the studios of Mubende FM. It all started this morning when a combined squad of Uganda People’s Defense Forces (UPDF) and police officers stormed Mubende FM where Besigye was appearing on a talk show and tried to jerk him out. Yusuf Kato Kibalama, the host of a Political talk show dubbed “Agali Awamu” says, the radio went off just ten minutes into the talk show. He says minutes later; security officers surrounded the radio station prompting management to lock the premises. Ingrid Turinawe, the FDC Women League Chairperson, said the officers failed to gain entry into the studio because of the biometrics lock and were fidgeting to break-in by press time.
Dr. Kizza Besigye told journalists on phone that he was safe but said there was a possibility that the police officers might have intentions of arresting him like they have always done. Besigye said he has embarked on a campaign to traverse several parts of the country to demystify the lies of president, Yoweri Museveni, which he said has blindfolded Ugandans for the last three decades. Besigye says government is aware that he has critical information and has decided to gag him from communicating to Ugandans more so those outside Kampala.
Our reporter has since established that the army and police have been keeping intense presence in Mubende town since last night. Alfred Kamya, a resident of Mubende, says the situation looked awkward since morning and at some streets there was limited movement. “We never knew what was happening but when we heard that Besigye was appearing on a political talk show on 106 Mubende FM, we tuned in but the radio went off.” Kamya told the media. The Wamala Region Police Spokesperson, Norbert Ochom declined to divulge details about the ongoing operation, only saying there was no chaos in the Municipality and that Dr. Besigye wasn’t under arrest.
This isn’t the first time a radio station is running into trouble for hosting Besigye. A similar incident happened last week in Kabale, where the Resident District Commissioner turned off Hope Radio station for hosting Besigye. For comments, call or text us on 0752510225
