Ugandan soldiers and police fired teargas to disperse thousands demonstrating against the arrest of opposition leader Kizza Besigye on Monday who was charged with inciting violence in protests over price rises. Police officers detained Besigye, President Yoweri Museveni's closest rival in February elections, on a road outside his house as he left to join a demonstration. Besigye, his right hand heavily bandaged following an injury sustained in the second protest last Thursday, was loaded on to a pick-up truck and taken to a police station for interrogation before his court appearance. Soldiers joined police patrolling the streets of the capital Kampala armed with guns and batons. They fired tear gas to disperse crowds that gathered to march and a crowd of about 3,000 people outside the police station where Besigye was held.
The court freed Besigye on bail after also charging him with engaging in riotous behaviour. Besigye was already on bail after he was charged with inciting unrest during the first "walk to work" protest last Monday.