Uganda polls: Opposition lawyers' offices burgled

Offices of lawyers challenging Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni's victory in last month's election have been broken into.



Lead counsel Mohamed Mbabazi said laptops, computers and documents were taken from his office.

The lawyers are representing Uganda's former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi who wants the election results annulled.
Local and international observers criticised the election process which saw Mr Museveni win 60% of the vote.

Lawyers were in the process of gathering witness evidence for the petition against the election result when they were burgled.

Mr Mbabazi, who was standing for president, is claiming voters were bribed and people were arrested during the vote.

Main opposition candidate Kizza Besigye was detained by police multiple times throughout the campaign, vote and during the count.

Mr Mbabazi's lawyers are due to present their case to the Supreme Court Justices by Sunday.

Amama Mbabazi, 67, used to be an ally to President Museveni. He started his professional life as a lawyer and went on to hold a variety of ministerial roles under Mr Museveni including security, defence, justice minister. He has also been the attorney general and was prime minister for three years before he was sacked. He went on to challenge his old ally in February's election.

He hinted at an election rally that the two had fallen out over Mr Museveni breaking a promise that he would step down.

Yoweri Museveni, 71, has been in power since winning a five-year guerrilla war in 1986 and he is one of Africa's longest-serving leaders. His final term was meant to end in 2006, but in 2005 he won a campaign to lift the constitutional term limits.

(BBC Afrca)