Former spy chief Gen Tumukunde, who recently declared his plan to run for the presidency, has been arrested for alleged treason.
Retired Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde’s home and office in the capital, Kampala, have been blocked since Thursday night and are being searched by the police and army.
He told the BBC in a brief phone interview that he denied the allegations against him – that he had made inciteful comments to turn people against the government, and that he had asked Rwanda to help remove President Yoweri Museveni from power
: Quote Message: Do you want to imagine an individual can entice Rwanda to attack Uganda? Is that possible, it’s not possible. But anyway, all this is a concoction, so we’re waiting for whatever.”
Gen Tumukunde’s announcement last week that he plans to run against President Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, has attracted a lot of media attention.
Analysts have been speculating whether the general – who was part of the president’s security and political machinery for over three decades – could be the person to unseat him.
Some in the opposition does not trust the new aspirant saying he was closely linked to the security institutions that have been used against Mr. Museveni’s opponents.
The ruling party dismissed Gen Tumukunde’s ambitions saying he lacked a clear political base.
But this is not the first time he has fallen out with the establishment.
In 2005, he was put under house arrest for years, after he opposed the lifting of constitutional presidential term limits which allowed Mr. Museveni to run for office again.
Source: BBC
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