By Sharon Tibenda

8^th Oct 2012:

Gate to Besigye's residence

A combined force of heavily armed soldiers, police officers, and plain cloth security operatives, have, in a tragic twist, used the midnight cover of darkness to break into and violently storm the residence of Dr. Kizza Besigye, the president of the leading opposition party Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).

The purpose of the violent midnight raid wasn’t immediately clear – a fact which left fertile ground for speculation.  For example, a host of commentators on the social media networks believe that it could have something to do with Dr. Besigye’s declaration, as reported by the media on Sunday that President Museveni will only be removed from office by force – meaning through civil disobedience.

Others believe that the government took the decision to raid Dr. Besigye’s home because it was convinced that the retired Colonel, who has beaten state security many times before, had constructed an underground tunnel in his home which enabled him to beat the security cordon that was installed around his home last week.

Makerere under siege

As the news of the attack on Dr. Besigye’s home spread, it also emerged that red-beret donning military police officers had virtually put the student’s halls of residence at Makerere University under siege.

Makerere University has always been an opposition stronghold – which may explain why the government took the decision to pre-emptively neutralise any possible security threats that could arise from the university campus.

Commenting on the incident, Mr. Tabu Butagira, a well known Ugandan Journalist and political commentator said:  “…After 50yrs of independence, security folks raid (the) house of (an) opposition politician at night? – “fundamental change” indeed!

International outrage

Thanks to the social media networks, news of the unprecedented attack on Dr Besigye’s home had by 01:00am (East African Standard Time) started to elicit international outrage.

“…It’s indefensible that 50 years after independence, a man placed under inexplicable house arrest is brutally dehumanized.  There should be a genuine outrage about the way Besigye is treated”, said Abdullahi Boru, a prominent Somali Journalist.

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