Opposition leader, Dr Kizza Besigye has attributed the killing of Yasin Kawuma (Bobi Wine’s driver) in Arua in August to an attempt by President Museveni’s regime to eliminate opposition figure, Robert Kyagulanyi alias Bobi Wine.
Besigye told the press on Thursday that there is what he termed as a conspiracy by President Yoweri Museveni’s government to instigate conflict among the opposition and ride on it to kill politicians who are anti-government.
He was addressing the media at his Katonga road office in Kampala on the security situation in the country.
Yasin Kawuma was shot and killed on the evening of August 13 while he sat in the passenger seat of Bobi Wine’s Tundra car. At that particular moment, Bobi Wine was in the nearby hotel where he was residing during the Arua municipality Parliamentary election campaigns.
The news of Kawuma’s death was broke by Bobi Wine who posted on his Twitter a photo of blood soaked Kawuma and said that the killers thought they had killed him (Bobi Wine).
“Plans to eliminate political opponents have been there all along, but it has always been through subtle means like poisoning. Efforts have been made by the regime to cause actual conflict in the opposition, which would be a launchpad for assassinations,” said the former FDC President.
“If an impression is made that I am at loggerheads with Mayor Lukwago, either of us can be killed and the other arrested for the crime. This was done in Aria when Kyagulanyi’s driver was killed”.
“They made it seem that there was a conflict between my brother Kyagulanyi and myself because of the previous by-elections. What was supposed to happen in Arua is to kill Kyagulanyi and arrest Besigye for his death,”he said.
He also alluded to the recent security related concerns by Yokasi Bihande, the husband to former Leader of Opposition, Winnie Kiiza who claimed a group of soldiers armed with SMGs had deployed at his Kasese residence and wanted to kill him.
According to Besigye, Bihande during an interview with the media said he suspected this was the work of the Patrick Amuriat faction in the FDC to kill him since he is the Chairman of the the News Formation, a break away group from the FDC led by Mugisha Muntu.
“Had he [Bihande] been killed, today, the obvious suspects would be in FDC. Perhaps after killing someone from the New Formation, then they would kill another from Amuriat’s side to make it look like reprisal,” the four-time Presidential candidate told reporters on Thursday.
He asked his fellow politicians within the opposition to be prudent in how they manage their contradictions so as not to fall into the trap of NRM’s web of conspiracy.
Besigye says he is privy to information that there is a kill list with opposition figures as targets.
All these assassinations, Besigye said, are also meant to divert Ugandans from the real struggle of pursuing change.
