The Senior Presidential Adviser on Defence and Security Gen Salim Saleh has revealed that he is working to resolve the political differences surrounding opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye within the next three to six months.
Gen Saleh, who is also the Chief Coordinator of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC), said he had reconnected with Dr Besigye after years of political differences and hoped their engagements would produce a solution to the current standoff.
He made the remarks while addressing heads of parliamentary committees at Kapeeka in Nakaseke District.
"I hope we shall convince each other in the next six or three months to have a combined outlook of the Uganda you guys want to have tomorrow," Gen Saleh said.
Gen Saleh said his involvement began after the Chief of Defence Forces Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba posted on X on August 25, saying that Gen Saleh would handle Dr Besigye's situation.
"Recently, I got a tweet on August 25 from the CDF that Kizza Besigye's problem is my problem. I am the one to sort it out," he said.
He described the assignment as an opportunity to rebuild ties with Dr Besigye, with whom he had lost contact because of political disagreements.
"Because of politics, I had lost touch with Kizza Besigye completely," he said.
Gen Saleh said he subsequently visited Dr Besigye in hospital and found him unwell.
He said his first priority was to secure better medical care for the opposition politician.
"My first action was, take him from the prison to a proper medical centre. I took him to where I would be if I was under intensive conditions, at the Joint Clinical Research Centre," he said.
He added that he wanted Dr Besigye's condition to stabilise before pursuing further discussions.
The retired general said the engagements were part of efforts to prevent younger Ugandans from inheriting political disputes between leaders who participated in the country's earlier struggles.
"We are carefully examining what needs to be done so that you don't inherit our generational quarrels, and I hope God will help us to achieve it," he said.
Dr Besigye has been in custody since November 2024, having been arrested from Nairobi, Kenya, and brought to Uganda. He faces treason charges alongside his aide Obeid Lutale and Capt Denis Oola.
During the Kapeeka meeting, Gen Saleh also urged legislators to study proposals by Prof Ogenga Latigo Otunnu on consociational democracy, a system that promotes power-sharing and cooperation among competing political groups.
He argued that President Museveni had practised aspects of this approach through compromises with political actors and former insurgent groups.
Gen Saleh also reflected on divisions among the original National Resistance Army (NRA) members, saying some of the disagreements that emerged after the 1986 takeover were unnecessary.
He noted that the first government formed after the NRA captured power included figures from the Democratic Party rather than relying solely on former NRA members.
He urged younger leaders to study Uganda's political history and pursue cooperation instead of carrying forward old divisions.
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