Uganda’s main opposition leader Kizza Besigye was arrested on Tuesday, barely hours ahead of a parliamentary debate on the proposed scrapping of the presidential age limit.
The leader of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Party was apprehended in downtown Kampla where he had gone to rally his supporters to oppose the removal of Article 102 (b) , which caps presidential age limit at 75 years of age, from the Constitution.
Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate, has for long been at loggerheads with the Ugandan police, over his opposition of the government.
Lawmakers allied to the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) Party proposed the abolishment of the age limit to allow President Yoweri Museveni run for another mandate in 2021.
73-year-old Museveni would be barred from contesting the next vote if that clause if not changed.`
In a mention of the proposal in parliament last week, MP’s engaged in harsh verbal arguments, forcing the speaker to adjourn the sitting.
Opposition leaders have condemned the move, accusing the president of plotting to cling on to power longer than the legal requirement.
Also arrested with Besigye was an opposition Member of Parliament Fred Mukasa Mbidde.
