On Friday, February 14, Ugandans were shocked when retired Colonel Dr. Kizza Besigye appeared in court looking gaunt and frail.
Dr. Besigye was offered a chair to sit by a prison warder as he waited for the hearing of his trial in court to proceed. He seemed visibly out of breath and had lost a lot of weight.
Since that court appearance, a storm of protests has flooded social media, demanding for the Ugandan opposition leader’s release to receive proper medical treatment. Relatives and lawyers had informed the public and court that Dr. Besigye had embarked on a hunger strike demanding his release and fair trial in a civilian court.
Observers were left not only shocked but hurt by the good doctor’s frail appearance. They could not help but wonder why President Museveni was treating his former doctor so harshly.
Dr. Besigye had saved Museveni’s life not once but many times during the difficult and traumatic Bush War (1981-1985) that brought Museveni to power in Kampala.
Dr. Besigye’s predicament reminded me of a similar incident that occurred in Ghana, the first African country to secure independence from the colonialists.
In history today, we are taught that the Ghanaian struggle for independence was led by the legendary Pan-Africanist Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. That is true, but he was far from alone.
One of Nkrumah’s closest associates in the struggle against the British imperialists was a certain Dr. Joseph Kwame Kyeretwie Boakye Danquah. He was one of Nkrumah’s chief advisors and advocates.
Together with Nkrumah, he was a member of The Big Six, six black African leaders of the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC) who were detained in 1948 for defying the colonial government and demanding independence.
However, on winning the independence struggle, Dr. Danquah started to become disillusioned with Nkrumah’s rule.
He accused Nkrumah of abandoning the ideals they had fought for and becoming increasingly authoritarian. This led to a rapture between the two friends.
After falling out with his fellow independence fighter, Kwame Nkrumah, Danquah stood as a presidential candidate against Nkrumah in the April 1960 elections. He lost the election.
On 3 October 1961, Danquah was arrested under the “Preventive Detention Act” (does it ring a bell?) for allegedly plotting to kill Nkrumah and overthrow the CPP government. He was released on 22 June 1962.
He enjoyed temporary but restricted freedom, later even getting elected president of the Ghana Bar Association.
In January 1963, he was rearrested, with no charges being made public this time.
He remained in prison until his death on 4 February 1965, aged 69 years. Officially, he suffered a heart attack. His family said he was tortured while in detention, leading to his death.
Earlier, in 1964, a constitutional amendment had made Nkrumah a president for life.
But, in February 1966, Nkrumah was overthrown and forced into exile, first in Guinea-Conakry and later in Romania.
Meanwhile, shortly after Nkrumah’s overthrow, the military government gave Dr. Danquah a national burial.
While in exile, Nkrumah was diagnosed with cancer, eventually succumbing to the disease at a hospital in Bucharest, Romania, in April 1972.
It would be Nkrumah’s family to request for a burial for him. The military government turned it down.
Nkrumah was first buried in Guinea.
Later, his remains were moved to his hometown of Nkroful, Southwestern Ghana. In 1992, his body was exhumed and moved, yet again, to Accra, his final resting place.
