Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye received  only slight injuries yesterday when Ugandan security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets into a protesting crowd. Today he visited a wounded aide in the hospital before continuing his rallying. Currently there are reports that a new riot has broken out.

By Mark Schenkel, Kampala

“The more violently the Ugandan government tries to stop us, the more determined we become in our peaceful struggle to remove President Yoweri Museveni from power,” says Francis Mwijukye.

Mwijukye, an aide to oppositional leader Kizza Besigye, is one of around ten protesters who were injured yesterday after police used teargas and rubber bullets to prevent an anti-government rally from taking place in capital Kampala. The 29-year-old Mwijukye was rushed to Case Medical Centre where fragments of a rubber bullet where surgically removed from his right thigh.

Walking is not treason
In his hospital bed, Mwijukye was joined by a dozen opposition supporters, some wearing t-shirts stating “Walking is not treason” – a reference to the “Walk to Work” protests which the opposition started a year ago against the government’s poor handling of the economy and against bad governance in general.

“I was not hit by a stray bullet,” says Mwijukye. “At the venue in the Katwe area, the police threw teargas to confuse and disperse us. Then I saw a police officer deliberately take aim at us from only four meters away.” An independent eyewitness confirmed Mwijukye’s account.

Aimed at Besigye
According to Mwijukye, the target was Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye who was standing next to him. Mwijukye is Besigye’s bodyguard, though he prefers the word “aide”. Mwijukye: “When I saw the police aiming at us, I pushed Doctor Besigye away. Then I took the bullet.”

Besigye was only slightly injured during the incident. He was released from hospital yesterday evening. Today, he visited Mwijukye in hospital before holding a new protest. The rally, which attracted a modest crowd, was allowed to go ahead and began peacefully.

New riot?
However, according to a local paper, a riot broke out this evening. Opposition supporters began pelting stones at anti-riot police who responded by throwing dozens of teargas canisters into the crowd. Besigye entered his car surrounded by a human shield of supporters. Several people have been reportedly injured.