Uganda's opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, has been arrested for the third time this week, as early election results suggest President Yoweri Museveni will hold on to power for a fifth term.
Besigye was detained today after heavily armed officers stormed his Forum for Democratic Change party headquarters in the capital Kampala and fired tear gas at his supporters, the BBC reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The move was immediately condemned by human rights groups, with Amnesty International calling it a "blatant violation of Ugandans' fundamental rights to freedom of expression".
Provisional election results show Museveni currently holds 62 per cent of the vote and is likely to extend his 30-year rule. Beisgye has so far won 33 per cent.
Uganda's electoral commission told Al Jazeera the vote had been "transparent" and "fair".
But the US, which considers Uganda a key ally in the fight against Islamist extremism in east Africa, has condemned Besigye's detention. It warned that such action "calls into question Uganda's commitment to a transparent and free election process, free from intimidation".
Magnus Taylor, a Horn of Africa analyst at the International Crisis Group, says Uganda has witnessed growing levels of authoritarianism in the last decade. "This has come in waves, most evident during election periods when a generally strident opposition has clashed against the President's anti-democratic tendencies," he told CNN.
-
Buddhist monks’ US walk for peaceUnder the Radar Crowds have turned out on the roads from California to Washington and ‘millions are finding hope in their journey’
-
American universities are losing ground to their foreign counterpartsThe Explainer While Harvard is still near the top, other colleges have slipped
-
How to navigate dating apps to find ‘the one’The Week Recommends Put an end to endless swiping and make real romantic connections
-
Epstein files topple law CEO, roil UK governmentSpeed Read Peter Mandelson, Britain’s former ambassador to the US, is caught up in the scandal
-
Iran and US prepare to meet after skirmishesSpeed Read The incident comes amid heightened tensions in the Middle East
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
