Tension: Army officers arrested for plotting to overthrow president

– A plot to overthrow President Yoweri Museyeni of Uganda has been uncovered

– Dozens of military officers including some senior ones have been arrested

– The army officers are said to be linked with an opposition politician in Uganda

– An attack on a police post by gunmen in a northern district has been repelled

– The Ugandan police repelled the attack in conjunction with the army, in a bout that lasted for about 30 minutes

Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Paddy Ankunda said on Sunday, June 12, that more officers are being held over alleged acts of subversion. One of those in detention is a colonel with Uganda’s air forces.

He said the officers have suspected links to an opposition politician, Michael Kabaziguruka, who is being questioned by the police over similar allegations.

Mr Kabaziguruka is a close ally of opposition leader Kizza Besigye, who was charged with treason following a disputed presidential election in February. Mr Besigye refused to accept the official results and claimed he had won the election.

Mr Museveni has been in power since 1986. He seized power at the end of a guerrilla war against an elected government.

Since then, many of his former colleagues, including Mr Besigye, have broken ranks with him, accusing the president of becoming an authoritarian ruler.

Others claim that Mr Museveni wants to rule for life or has plans to have his son succeed him, which he denies.

NY times reports that the charges against Besigye, a four-time presidential challenger who once served in Mr Museveni’s government, have been criticized by some as an attempt to intimidate the opposition at a time when the president’s popular support is waning, especially in urban areas.

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Ladislaus Rwakafuuzi, a lawyer for Besigye, said the treason allegations against Mr Kabaziguruka and the army officers were “stage-managed” in an effort to keep Besigye in jail.

“Their interest is in Besigye,” Mr Rwakafuuzi said, referring to members of the Museveni government. “There is nothing treasonable he has done.”

In the same vein, Ugandan officials say they have repelled an attack on a police post by gunmen in a northern district amid reports of mass arrests of soldiers accused of plotting against President Yoweri Museveni.

Ugandan police spokesman Fred Enanga said the military and the police repulsed the attackers after a firefight that lasted 30 minutes. He said the attackers carried automatic weapons.

He said two police officers and a soldier were injured in the assault in the remote district of Gulu.

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