{"id":422643,"date":"2011-05-12T06:49:28","date_gmt":"2011-05-12T06:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/05\/12\/will-besigye-fly-in-today\/"},"modified":"2011-05-12T06:49:28","modified_gmt":"2011-05-12T06:49:28","slug":"will-besigye-fly-in-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/12\/will-besigye-fly-in-today\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Besigye Fly in Today?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
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\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

Sheila Naturinda<\/p>\n

12 May 2011<\/p>\n

\n

Kampala \u2014 President Museveni has faced Dr Kizza Besigye in the last three presidential elections and, as he swears-in today for another five \u2013year term of office, fate has thrown the two rivals into the spotlight.<\/p>\n

After Kenya Airways refused to fly the opposition leader back to the country yesterday under unclear circumstances, Dr Besigye said he would fly back at 9a.m. today, just as the swearing-in ceremony kicks off at Kololo Airstrip in Kampala.
If it was a movie script, with a plot featuring an airline, intelligence agents, two governments, a president and a key rival roughed up by state agents and flown abroad for treatment, would have been a thriller \u2013 but life can sometimes be stranger than fiction.<\/p>\n

Dr Besigye said yesterday that Kenya Airways officials told him that government had a hand in stopping him from returning aboard the airline’s 9a.m. flight, although Kampala has stoutly denied its reported involvement.<\/p>\n

Dr Besigye told this newspaper on telephone from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport last evening that he had just been given tickets for today’s morning flight, together with his wife Winnie Byanyima and a nurse.<\/p>\n

The leader of the opposition FDC party has been undergoing treatment in Nairobi Hospital for injuries suffered when security agents breaking up the walk-to-work protest violently arrested him on April 28, dousing him with liquid teargas and pepper spray and leaving him temporarily blinded.<\/p>\n

“I hope no other trouble arises,” Dr Besigye told this newspaper last night. “I am coming [on Thursday] on the same flight.”
Kenya Airways officials had earlier told the opposition leader, who spent more than 10 hours at the airport yesterday, that today’s flights were all fully booked.<\/p>\n

Ugandan officials had laid out elaborate arrangements for Dr Besigye’s return yesterday to ensure that it did not disrupt the comings and goings of foreign dignitaries invited for the swearing-in ceremony. His expected return today is likely to throw a cat among the pigeons as the police manage his supporters and the visiting delegations.<\/p>\n

Blame game
Officials in both countries were yesterday trying to absolve themselves from responsibility for blocking Dr Besigye’s return. In a statement, the CEO of Kenya Airways, Mr Titus Naikuni, apologised to the opposition leader and claimed that they had received “intelligence” that a plane with Dr Besigye on board would not be allowed to land at Entebbe Airport, although both the Ugandan and Kenyan governments denied having a hand in the matter.<\/p>\n

In his statement Mr Naikuni said: “Dr Besigye was earlier denied boarding on KQ 410\/11th May at 0800hrs following information from Kenya Airways internal intelligence sources that the aircraft would not be allowed to land at the Entebbe International Airport if he was on board.” (Full statement on page 4).<\/p>\n

Uganda’s hand?
While at the airport, Dr Besigye told journalists that “a person who identified herself as the Kenya Airways airport manager” informed him that the Ugandan government had asked that he be grounded at the airport.<\/p>\n

“She said that she had received a call from the Kenyan Airways chief executive officer that he had received instructions from the Ugandan government that the plane would not be allowed to land if I am on board,” he said.
Ms Byanyima said they refused an offer by the management of Air Uganda to fly with them instead.<\/p>\n

“We became suspicious how one plane would be denied landing space and another be allowed immediately. We couldn’t trust the flight,” she said. “We learnt at midday that government of Uganda has even denied its involvement in the matter, and we got shocked.”<\/p>\n

She later apologised to their supporters who had eagerly waited for their arrival only to be disappointed. “We had organised a function for prayers and hired service providers and all that money is now wasted. Kenya Airways must compensate us,” she said, although she didn’t divulge details of the said compensation.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, the Ugandan government through Internal Affairs Minister Kirunda Kivejinja told this newspaper that his office was not responsible for the matter. He said: “We don’t act crudely like that. We have no authority over Kenya Airways. We had all the powers to stop him from going, why now refuse his return?”<\/p>\n

Kenya government spokesman Alfred Mutua also distanced Nairobi from the matter, saying it was not involved and that the opposition leader was free to travel.
President Museveni, while addressing the media in Rwakitura on Tuesday, said there would be no problem with Dr Besigye’s return if he cooperated with the police.<\/p>\n

“The Inspector General of Police (Kale Kayihura) – told me on phone today that Cecilia Ogwal, acting on behalf of Besigye, approached the police about the return of Besigye. If Ogwal approached the police, there is no problem because that is the issue, if he approaches them and then they agree the routes and so on, that is all. If they work with police, Besigye will have no problem at all,” Mr Museveni said.<\/p>\n

The police had, as such, subsequently agreed with the FDC where their leader would pass and and the venue of their assembly for “national prayers”.<\/p>\n

Dokolo Woman MP Cecilia Ogwal later last night said: “What the government did today to our party president Dr Besigye is a shameful and unconstitutional act, especially when a number of dignitaries are in the country (for President Museveni’s swearing-in).”<\/p>\n

Additional reporting by Oliver Mathenge.<\/em><\/p>\n

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\nWill Besigye Fly in Today?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sheila Naturinda 12 May 2011 Kampala \u2014 President Museveni has faced Dr Kizza Besigye in the last three presidential elections and, as he swears-in today for another five \u2013year term of office, fate has thrown the two rivals into the spotlight. After Kenya Airways refused to fly the opposition leader back to the country yesterday under unclear circumstances, Dr Besigye said he would fly back at 9a.m. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-422643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nWill Besigye Fly in Today? - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/05\/12\/will-besigye-fly-in-today\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Will Besigye Fly in Today? - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Sheila Naturinda 12 May 2011 Kampala \u2014 President Museveni has faced Dr Kizza Besigye in the last three presidential elections and, as he swears-in today for another five \u2013year term of office, fate has thrown the two rivals into the spotlight. 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