KAMPALA, Uganda, Jan. 3 (UPI) -- A Ugandan court has freed President Yoweri Museveni's main opposition rival from jail in time to campaign for next month's national election.
Kizza Besigye, 49, has been in prison since he returned to Uganda in November after four years in exile, facing charges of treason and rape.
Judge John Bosco Katutsi ruled a military court had no right to detain Besigye because a civilian court had suspended the military trial. Besigye's lawyers successfully argued that he could not receive a fair trial before the military court as it was controlled by Museveni's aides.
Besigye was Museveni's personal doctor and friend until 1998, when they had a falling out, The Independent reported. He fled Uganda in 2001, claiming that Museveni was trying to kill him after he ran unsuccessfully in an election against Museveni.
A crowd of 12,000 thronged outside the Kampala prison Monday when Besigye was released, and police used tear gas to disperse them, the report said.
