Free opposition leader urges Bishop Kaggwa

Bishop John Baptist Kaggwa of the Catholic Diocese of Masaka has asked the government to respect the rights of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party leader Dr. Kizza Besigye and set him free from detention.

He said that since elections were now over, there was no need to keep the opposition leader in detention.

“We must work towards uniting the people of our country,” Bishop Kaggwa said during Easter Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Cathedral in Masaka.

In a related development, Church of Uganda’s Northern Uganda Diocese Bishop Johnson Gakumba also noted at the weekend that only talks between President Museveni and Dr. Besigye would calm the post-election tension that has gripped Uganda.

“If I were President Museveni, I would talk with Dr Besigye. This will help move this nation forward,” Bishop Gakumba said.

The Bishop was delivering his sermon during the Easter Sunday Service at Christ Church in Gulu Municipality.

Uganda’s opposition leader, Dr. Besigye has been under house arrest since the 18 February general elections and police have defended the action as intended ‘to prevent crime.’

Uganda’s Electoral Commission declared President Yoweri Museveni as the winner of the Februiary presidential elections with 60.62 per cent and Dr. Besigye as runner up with 35.61 percent of votes cast.

(CISA)