The wife of a prominent opposition leader claims he was whisked away in Nairobi, now languishing in a jail cell in Kampala, and she’s pleading for his swift release.
Renowned Ugandan political agitator, Kizza Besigye, made an appearance at the Makindye General Court Martial in Kampala on a date that will likely stick in minds: November 20, 2024 [Badru Katumba/AFP], amidst assertions of his abduction from neighboring Kenya.
Besigye, age 68 and once a practicing doctor, is a formidable critic of President Yoweri Museveni. He was brought to court trailed by a heavily armed military detail, igniting public intrigue.
His attorney, Erias Lukwago, relayed to the AFP news agency that the trial featured Besigye and Hajji Lutale Kamulegeya, another oppositional figure. They stand accused of possessing two handgun pistols and conspiring for logistical backup from sectors in Uganda, Greece, and beyond, intending, allegedly, to destabilize national security.
“Besigye refutes the accusations and questions the court’s authority to prosecute him. Meanwhile, he’s relegated to Luzira Prison until December 2,” Lukwago added, pointing to an overarching legal drama.
Earlier, Winnie Byanyima, known as the executive director for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, cried out for her husband’s release, accusing Uganda of overreaching its bounds.
On her X platform, Byanyima asserts Besigye was snatched from Nairobi on a Saturday while on his way to mingle at a book presentation. “I’ve gotten wind of his detention in a military prison in Kampala. We, his kinfolk and legal team, are demanding to see him. He’s a civilian. Why’s he locked up in military confinement?” she pondered aloud.
The Ugandan military has kept mum on the said cloak-and-dagger episode. Yet, Chris Baryomunsi, Uganda’s minister of information, casts doubt on the claim, suggesting any arrest abroad implicates joint efforts with the respective host country.
“An arrest in Kenya should throw no eyebrows. Rest assured, the [Ugandan] administration does not incarcerate someone willy-nilly for extended stints,” he narrated to Uganda’s state-sponsored broadcaster.
Nevertheless, Korir Singoei, Kenya’s principal secretary in the foreign affairs office, elucidated to local press that Kenya wasn’t entangled in the scenario.
This incident trails July’s occurrence, where Kenyan authorities detained 36 affiliates of Besigye’s Forum for Democratic Change party, a major thorn in Uganda’s ruling structure. These individuals were deported back to Uganda, facing accusations tethering them to “terrorism”.
Besigye’s scrapes with the law aren’t fresh developments. Back in Ugandan civil war days of the 1980s, Besigye tended to Museveni as a personal doctor but later emerged as a vociferous dissenter and combatant for change.
Running unsuccessfully against Museveni—who clung to power from 1986 through extended political reign—Besigye has alleged election malpractices and intimidation.
Museveni’s rule is often shadowed by charges of human rights infractions against those who dare oppose and their followers, featuring detentions minus legality, torment, and unlawful executions. But Uganda’s officials flip the script, affirming all those held face legitimate procedures within their judicial labyrinth.
Sources: Al Jazeera and an ensemble of news outlets
Edited by: Ali Musa
alimusa@axadletimes.com
Axadle international–Monitoring
