Uganda would consider an asylum application from Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi, as it would for anyone seeking refuge in the east African country, a minister said on Wednesday. Al Arabiya television reported that Uganda would welcome Qadhafi after Western and other states suggested the Libyan leader should go into exile to end the conflict in his country.
The television channel did not give further details. "Those are rumours. I have just been in a cabinet meeting with all the ministers and yes we discussed Libya but there was nothing on asylum that we discussed," Henry Okello Oryem, junior Minister for Foreign Affairs, told Reuters.
"However, if Qadhafi does apply for asylum in Uganda, we'll consider his application like we do for all those who seek refuge in Uganda," he said. Uganda is a member of the African Union ad hoc committee trying to mediate a resolution of the Libyan conflict after the United Nations authorised air strikes to protect Libyan civilians from forces loyal to Qadhafi.
The United States, Britain and Qatar, which joined others at a meeting on Libya in London on Tuesday, suggested Qadhafi and his family could be allowed to go into exile if they took up the offer quickly to end six weeks of bloodshed. Gaddafi has been a driving force behind the African Union, his largesse has extended Libya's economic reach throughout sub-Saharan Africa and he has some close friends in power.
But analysts say many African leaders have become frustrated with Qadhafi's erratic behaviour, some still harbour grudges over past meddling in internal conflicts and others may not want to tarnish their images further by giving him a home.