The Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye at a police station after his arrest. Photograph: Marc Hofer/AFP/Getty Images
Ugandan police have arrested the country's two main opposition leaders after they attempted to lead a protest over rising prices.
Kizza Besigye and Norbert Mao, who were second and third behind President Yoweri Museveni in last month's presidential poll, were separately detained in the capital Kampala on Monday morning, along with several other politicians. Opposition parties and civil society groups had called the "walk to work" demonstration over the high cost of fuel and food.
Police banned the demonstrations, claiming the real intention was to topple the government. Museveni, who has held power for 25 years, has already shown paranoia about Egypt-style protests, ordering a ban on text messages during the election that alluded to the north African uprisings.Besigye, who has been Museveni's main challenger in the past three polls and has a history of scrapes with the security services, set off on foot from his home to his office before 8am on Monday morning but was blocked by riot police on a road leading towards the city centre. Police used teargas to disperse a small group of protesters accompanying Besigye. After a two-hour standoff he was forced into a police vehicle.
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