How Dr Kizza Besigye and Gen. Saleh talks have to begin

What the report says

The Observer published a viewpoint arguing that any talks involving Uganda’s Gen. Salim Saleh and opposition figure Dr. Kizza Besigye should begin with an apology, not with broader negotiations. The piece says the current political environment under President Yoweri Museveni has further damaged the appearance of democracy and rule of law, citing the treatment of opposition figures and the reported normalization of abductions and torture.

The author contends that reported discussions around Besigye, his associate Hajji Obeid Lutale, and wider ideas of power-sharing are premature while Besigye remains in custody and another major opposition leader, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, is in exile. The article says it makes little sense to discuss consociational democracy or national reconciliation before resolving the cases of prominent opposition actors and addressing the conditions that led to them.

The column also responds to a separate argument from Crispin Kaheru of the Uganda Human Rights Commission, who had suggested that contact through religious intermediaries can be a normal first step in dialogue. The author disputes that approach, saying state-initiated talks should instead acknowledge wrongdoing and confront the underlying legal and political disputes.

More broadly, the piece frames the Besigye matter as part of a wider debate over accountability, credibility of security-linked prosecutions, and whether Uganda’s political system can move toward genuine reconciliation. It argues that any durable settlement would require direct redress for alleged abuses before any discussion of power-sharing.