On Wednesday, July 24th, 2024, Kenyan authorities handed over 40 supporters of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party, the Katonga faction headed by Col. (Rtd) Dr. Kizza Besigye, to Uganda’s External Security Organisation (ESO) after they were arrested in Kenya recently.
The group, mainly youths, were arrested in the Kenyan town, of Kisumu while recruiting Kenyan youths to join protests in Uganda.
Kenyan security said the suspects had also largely participated in the recent protest in Kenya by Gen Z members.
On June 26th, 2024, at exactly 12:55, the FDC Katonga leader, Dr. Besigye tweeted on his x-account, “I am in Nairobi, and my heart goes out to all the Kenyans who’ve lost their lives and those injured as they protest against taxes imposed on them. I am proud of all, especially the young Gen Z protesters who are valiantly facing guns and other lethal weapons and demanding justice! Freedom and justice come at a price, which we have to pay—sooner or later.”
A credible source said the youths had been sent to Kenya by Besigye to learn how the Kenyan Gen Z crew managed to successfully beat the security intelligence network while mobilizing for the protest. They were meant to use the same strategies in Uganda during the “march to parliament” protest that kicked off on July 23rd.
The group revealed that Col. Rtd. Besigye facilitated their stay in Kenya and that they were first inducted during a workshop under the guise of leadership training.
“Ever since the Kenyan protests broke out in the capital of Nairobi, Besigye has been actively reaching out to youth groups in Kenya with the aim of garnering support to join Ugandan protests; unfortunately for him, the group was arrested before they could return to Uganda with their colleagues,” said the source.
The source further indicated that Besigye has spent millions of shillings on this failed strategy and the group was meant to join the Tuesday protest starting from the border.
“Once the security agencies got wind of these, they alerted the Kenyan government, which followed up and indeed found out that 36 Ugandan youths belonging to the FDC-Katonga faction were planning and organizing to cause chaos starting at board towns,” revealed the source.
The suspects who were handed over to ESO on Wednesday for further processing by security are currently in police custody.
