Former presidential candidate, Dr. Kizza Besigye on Monday appeared before the Uganda Human Rights Commission Tribunal over the alleged violation of his rights during the 2016 elections.
The tribunal panel of three commissioners was chaired by the commission chairperson Ms. Mariam Wangadya.
The allegations relate to what rights body, Amnesty International described as a violation of human rights of leaders of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and undermining the ability of their party to legally challenge the results of the February 18 elections.
Dr. Besigye also challenges his repeated arrest and that of his party colleagues and supporters by the security forces.
Besigye also says security forces also besieged his home and raided the party’s main office in Kampala, something he claims the government has often denied. Besigye has informed the Human Rights tribunal that shortly after the 2016 General elections in which he stood as an FDC presidential candidate, he and other 3 senior party officials including the then party president Mugisha Muntu, Ingrid Turinawe, and Wasswa Birigwa were arrested by police at that time commanded by late former AIP Andrew Felix Kaweesi.
That the 4 were then bundled into a waiting police van and driven to Nagalama police station where they were jailed.
Besigye says the arrest prevented him from filing an election petition something which up to now he regrets as he says he is still stuck with his evidence which would have eventually overturned the 2016 presidential election results, henceforth telling the commission that he cannot recognise Museveni as a dully elected president of Uganda.
“I still have evidence with me that I defeated President Museveni in the 2016 presidential election,” Besigye told the commission.
He now seeks compensation from government for the continued alleged violation of his rights, torture, loss of income, lost opportunities, and sealing off FDC party offices.
