Military hearing for 'abducted' politician condemned

Kenya's Government said it was investigating how a prominent Ugandan opposition leader was spirited out of Nairobi earlier two weeks ago, amid growing criticism that it had failed to protect foreign dissidents on its soil. Dr Kizza Besigye, a longtime rival of Ugandan President Museveni, disappeared in the Kenyan capital last Saturday. As reported in Legalbrief Today, he reappeared on Wednesday at a military court in neighbouring Uganda, where he was charged with offences including the illegal possession of firearms. According to a report in The Monitor, Uganda's Government spokesperson said it did not carry out abductions and that arrests abroad were done in collaboration with host countries. However, Korir Sing'oei, principal secretary at Kenya's Foreign Ministry, said Besigye's detention – which he referred to as an abduction – was ‘not the act of the Kenyan Government’ and was being investigated by the Interior Ministry. The Ugandan court's charge sheet alleges Besigye was found with a pistol and eight rounds of ammunition in Nairobi and claimed he had been seeking support to undermine the security of Uganda's military. Besigye's wife said he has not owned a gun in the past 20 years and should be tried in a civilian and not a military court. The UN human rights chief, Volker Turk, called for Besigye's release. ‘Such abductions of Ugandan opposition leaders and supporters must stop, as must the deeply concerning practice in Uganda of prosecuting civilians in military courts,’ he said. The affair has fuelled renewed criticism of Kenya's record on human rights and international law. In July, Kenyan authorities deported 36 members of Besigye's political party to Uganda, where they were charged with terrorism-related offences. Last month, Kenya deported four Turkish refugees to Ankara, drawing criticism from the UN.