Veteran opposition leader Col Kizza Besigye has responded to ISO Director General Brig Kaka Bagyenda’s narrative linking him to subversive activities. Appearing on CBS’ Kiriza obagana program Tuesday evening, Besigye said whereas he has deliberately chosen non-violent struggle to end President Museveni’s rule, he can’t condemn those who choose non-conventional means including those Bagyenda paraded at his Monday news conference and had them confess to investing in political violence. “However, it’s criminal to present people you consider to be criminals to the public on TV instead of taking them to court. I challenge Brig Kaka to present those people to court and have them formally charged. The fact that he hasn’t taken them to court but to a press conference is indicative that he is just posturing,” a tough-talking Besigye said. He added that because of the way people have politically been squeezed it shouldn’t surprise anyone that some people might resort to non-conventional means to show their grievances just like President Museveni did in 1980. He further said that even when he has for years been clarifying that Defiance is his chosen path of struggling against Museveni, its surprising a whole DG ISO isn’t yet aware that he has nothing to do with violent rebellion against NRM. “You know he was made DG ISO after spending many years in Kalangala on the Islands. I think he was away for too long and missed some of these things which we have publicly been declaring at the press conferences that we are running a people’s government under the Defiance platform,” he added. He said Bagyenda can’t dare taking the men to court because “they always don’t have evidence apart from criminal forgeries.” He gave the example of the treason case with which he was charged for swearing himself in as the people’s President after 2016 elections. “They have failed to prosecute that case even when I said I’m here and I’m guilty I swore in myself. They feared the trial to start because it was going to be an opportunity for me to prove that we won that election and it’s Mr. Museveni, for whom Kaka works, that committed treason by subverting the will of the people.”
THE LC SAGA;
Besigye also commented on the LC1 elections saying it was characteristically conducted in a sham manner and that nobody should be surprised because the EC’s inherent weaknesses are well known. “We told them this issue of people lining in the open can’t work. It only discredits the elections and you have all seen the chaos. That is why we are going to organize our own elections under the people’s government which I head. We shall also have our own version of Parliament called the People’s Assembly,” he said. “The Electoral Commission’ role in our upcoming elections doesn’t matter. What matters is the legitimacy of the leaders we come up with for the different places.” He said the People’s Assembly will comprise of representatives that people consider to be alternatives to the current MPs who betrayed them by scrapping age limits in the Constitution. The moderator Med Nsereko asked him the address of the place where his People’s government leaders meet from and Besigye said “that doesn’t matter.” He said what matters is the willingness and ability by the leaders to meet and deliberate on issues of the people.
