Uganda’s opposition leader Kizza Besigye has been charged with treason, his lawyers say.
Besigye has been under virtual house arrest since the presidential election in February. Since then his house has been ringed by police, spiked barriers placed on the road to it and visitors vetted, Al Jazeera reports.
He disputed President Yoweri Museveni’s victory in the election, to which the government has argued the victory was valid and Besigye is trying to hold illegal protests.
President Museveni has been in power for three decades.
Besigye was arrested in the capital Kampala on Wednesday after staging a ceremony at which he was mock sworn-in as president and taken to Moroto, a town about 400km away.
His lawyer told AFP he appeared in court today in Moroto and was charged with treason.
His lawyer also said Besigye was denied legal representation when charged with treason on Friday, and was remanded in custody until another court appearance that was set for May 25.
Besigye was previously charged with treason in 2005 but that case was later dropped.
Police spokesman Fred Enanga confirmed the latest case against Besigye but did not offer details of the charges.
In the days leading up to the President’s swearing-in the government banned live television or radio coverage of protests in the wake of the election.
According to elections.co.ug, Besigye’s party was the first real opposition of the ruling National Resistance Movement, and has been standing against Museveni in every election since 2001.
