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Guinness World Records: No, Besigye is not the most arrested man in the world


Guinness World Records has put the record straight and clarified that Ugandan opposition politician, Kizza Besigye, is not the most arrested man in the world.

On Wednesday, there were reports that Guinness World Records had recognized Besigye as the most arrested man in the world after his Monday arrest.

Guinness World Records made the clarification after Nairobi News Editor sought to establish if the same is true.

“This is not correct. It does seem to have been very widely misreported,” Guinness World Records responded.

According to the online media reports, they had indicated that Mr Besigye had entered the annals of the world’s most arrested individuals on Monday when the police took him away and detained him at the Nalufenya Police Station in the eastern town of Jinja.

It was reported that Besigye was preparing to address rally of FDC supporters at the Bugembe Stadium in the town when he was whisked away before being freed a few hours later.

It has also been reported that 30 percent of Besigye’s arrests took place in Uganda’s election year in 2016 when he was detained over 15 times.

Besigye, a physician by profession, is a retired military officer of the Uganda People’s Defence Force. He worked with President Yoweri Museveni for several years before they fell out.

He formed the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party in 2000 and has ran for the presidency four times but failed to beat Museveni who has led Uganda since 1986.

The Guinness World Records is a reference book published annually, listing world records both of human achievements and the extremes of the natural world.