Ugandan presidential candidate campaigns without shoes

On the morning of November 3, opposition presidential candidate Patrick Oboi Amuriat left his home to go to his party’s headquarters in the south of Kampala, Uganda’s capital. ¨

From there, he planned to join his supporters and party officials in a procession to a venue where the electoral commission was conducting nominations for presidential contenders.

But before he could, the police pounced and violently arrested him. They then whisked him off to the nomination venue in the east of Kampala.

When he emerged from the police car, a visibly traumatized Amuriat was without his shoes.

‘Rich in symbolism’

Since November 3, the candidate for the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has never been seen in public with shoes. At campaign events, he shows up barefooted.

FDC is Uganda’s largest opposition party. In 3 previous elections, the party fronted veteran activist and retired army colonel Kizza Besigye for president.