Kenya's leader faces tough questions after mysterious Ugandan exile disappearance
A high-profile Ugandan opposition figure vanished from Nairobi last month causing international outcry. The incident adds to mounting pressure on Kenyas president amid corruption claims and human-rights concerns
Last month a well-known Ugandan opposition figure went missing in broad daylight from Kenyas capital – an event that brought more problems for the countrys troubled leadership. Kizza Besigye disappeared while attending a book event and later showed up at a military court in Uganda facing terror charges (which raised many eye-brows in the international community)
The incident happened as William Rutoʼs government faces growing criticism from different sides: The Catholic Church turned down his cash-gift and spoke against what they called a culture-of-lies; Multiple deals worth over $2.5 billion with an Indian business-man had to be cancelled due to fraud claims
The human-rights situation doesnt look good either. Since the summer protests against new finance laws:
- Over 70 forced disappearances recorded
- More than 1‚300 random arrests made
- Reports of torture by security forces
- Growing number of protest-related deaths
Despite these red-flags the US keeps strong ties with Kenya. The Biden team made Kenya a non-NATO ally and got their help for Haiti peace-keeping‚ while average bribes in the country doubled this year
In other news South Africa gets ready to lead G-20 starting december; Chinaʼs leader visited Morocco to talk about new factory plans; and five West-African countries agreed on building a super-highway between Ivory Coast and Nigeria to boost local trade
Otherwise‚ how would you arrest somebody in the middle of Nairobi and then bring him back to Uganda without the full knowledge and support of the government in Kenya?
Winnie Byanyima‚ the missing leaders wife who works at UN-AIDS asked: “He is not a soldier – why is he being held in a military jail“
