By The Editorial
When Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni took office in 1986, he declared plainly that Africa's problems were mainly the result of leaders clinging too long to power. However, 29 years later, Museveni still hasn't gone. Now he's seeking a sixth presidential term.
Every year Museveni remains in office, the space in Uganda for political engagement contracts a bit more. In 2001, Colonel Kizza Besigye, a former military officer with the Uganda's People's Defence, declared his intentions to run for the presidency. Ever since, Besigye has been in and out of prison.
There are signs that Museveni's grip on power is waning. Several old guards from his own National Resistance Movement have come out openly to oppose him. Most recently, former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi declared that he will run in the 2016 presidential election. (Last year, Museveni sacked Mbabazi.)
While he was prime minister, Mbabazi engineered the Public Order Management Act, a law later used against him. On 9 July 2015, as he was beginning regional consultative meetings, Mbabazi was arrested and detained for 10 hours for supposedly violating this new law. Kizza Besigye, a leading opposition figure, was also arrested at his home in Kasangati.
Online, Ugandans have speculated about the reasons for the arrest.
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