Museveni says Besigye does not face arrest

President Yoweri Museveni has said the Ugandan government will not arrest former presidential candidate Kizza Besigye if he decides to return to the country, 'The New Vision' reported on Thursday. "No, we cannot arrest him, but if he commits an offence then the law will take its course," Museveni was quoted as saying on Wednesday. Besigye, comfortably defeated by Museveni in the March presidential elections, fled Uganda in August, saying he feared for his life after hearing that Ugandan security agents were planning to arrest him. Besigye claims that in March, and again in May, government security forces prevented him from leaving the country even though he had not been charged with a crime. Besigye, reported to be in South Africa, has said he would consider using force "if the government leaves no option open for peaceful and democratic means of changing or addressing leadership issues". Museveni also denied reports that the Ugandan police had placed restrictions on the freedom of movement of Besigye's wife, Winnie Byanyima. "It is not me haunting her, but it is a matter of the law, because she stood surety for someone, and the accused disappeared," Museveni was quoted as saying during a visit to the UK. Byanyima, MP for Mbarara, was arrested on 10 September after a political ally she guaranteed bail for disappeared. According to the human rights group Amnesty International, she was subsequently charged with embezzlement and possession of an illegal firearm "under circumstances suggesting evidence of harassment". Amnesty said on 14 September it was concerned over the "increasingly hostile environment" affecting opposition MPs when expressing opinions contrary to those of the government.