The Guinness World Book of Records has recognized Uganda’s Opposition Leader and Former President of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) Dr Warren Kizza Besigye Kifefe, known as Kizza Besigye as the most arrested man in the world.
Besigye is a husband and a father, married to the Executive Director of UNAIDS Engineer Winnie Byanyima and together they have a 20-year-old son.
He served as the president of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) political party and was an unsuccessful candidate in Uganda's 2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016 presidential elections.
He lost all of them to the incumbent Yoweri Museveni, who has been President of Uganda since 26 January 1986.
On Monday, 20th January 2020, He shot into the world book of records when he was arrested for the 50th time in Uganda.
He was detained at Nalufenya Police Station and missed to address party of loyalists at Bugembe Stadium in Jinja. His rally was dispersed by Uganda police with tear gas.
Besigye and his team kept running battles with police officers from Jinja Police Station, Bugembe Police Station and Kakira Police Stations. It became intense when soldiers from Gadaffi Army Barracks were deployed.
30% of his arrests alone came in 2016 when he got arrested more than 15 times during Uganda’s Presidential elections.
From the start, the 2016 vote was marked by controversy where authorities blocked social media on the Election Day.
Nevertheless, in that afternoon Besigye was arrested, accused of attempting to storm a facility where he alleged ballot stuffing was taking place.
This was to be the first of many arrests that followed that week and throughout that year.
Days later, the Electoral Commission declared Yoweri Museveni winner with 60.8% of the vote and Besigye runner up with 35.4%.
Since then Besigye, his colleagues and supporters have been jailed, kept under house arrest and faced police violence.
Today, Besigye’s arrest has cemented his legacy into the Guinness world book of records with the highest number of arrests in the world.
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