In 1999, Dr Kizza Besigye brought to the public fore long simmering tensions within the Movement hierarchy when he authored a paper An Insider’s View of How NRM Lost the Broad-base. The paper chronicled how Mr Museveni was steadily betraying the ideals that inspired the 1981-86 bush war, accusing him of nurturing undemocratic and intolerant tendencies. Mr Museveni reacted by warning that the now retired Colonel risked being court-martialled for engaging in partisan debate while still a serving military man. Dr Besigye out-manoeuvered the regime’s legal snare by retiring from the army in 2001, setting the stage for an acrimonious onslaught against Mr Museveni’s hold onto power that runs to date.
He challenged Mr Museveni during the 2001 polls, garnering 27 per cent of the vote in an election that attracted notoriety for the violence meted out by regime functionaries on his supporters. Dr Besigye’s 2001 challenge attracted the wrath of his bush war peers, who insisted Mr Museveni should be given a chance to complete his two terms, a promise the President inscribed in his 2001 manifesto but would later make a u-turn on, triggering a mass exodus from his NRM party. FULL STORY
