MASAKA MARCH 29, 2016(CISA) – Bishop John Baptist Kaggwa of the Catholic Diocese of Masaka has called on 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 the time for elections had ended, there was no need to keep the opposition leader in detention.
“We must work towards uniting the people of our country,” Bishop Kaggwa said while celebrating Easter Day Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows Cathedral in Masaka on Sunday March 27.
Delivering his Easter Sunday message at All Saints Cathedral in Kampala, Church of Uganda Archbishop Stanley Ntagali also called for talks and the immediate release of Dr Besigye.
He also asked believers to pray for the people in the Rwenzori region. “Let us pray for Dr Besigye who is under house arrest such that he is freed by government,” The Daily Monitor quoted Archbishop Ntagali as saying.
In a related development, Northern Uganda Diocese Bishop Johnson Gakumba noted that only talks between President Museveni and Dr Besigye can calm down the post-election tension that has gripped the nation.
“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 Mass March 27 at Christ Church in Gulu Municipality.
Dr Besigye has been under house arrest since the February 18, general elections and police have defended the actions as intended to prevent crime.
Police chief Kale Kayihura said the security agencies would not vacate Dr Besigye’s home in Kasangati until he denounces his “defiance campaign.”
This has been interpreted as a plan to rally citizens to a mass uprising in protest of what he termed as election rigging which subverts the will of the people.
The Electoral Commission declared president Museveni (NRM) as winner of the presidential elections with 60.62 per cent (5,971,872 60 votes) and Dr Besigye (FDC) as runner up with 35.61 per cent (3,508,687 votes).
The total votes cast was 10,329,131 and valid votes cast were 9,851,812.
