Ugandan Opposition Leader Besigye Abducted in Kenya, Detained in Ugandan Military Jail- Wife Says

Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye has reportedly been kidnapped in Kenya and taken to a Ugandan military jail. His wife, Winnie Byanyima, revealed this in a social media post on November 20, 2024.

Byanyima, the executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), said her husband was last seen on Saturday during a book launch in Kenya hosted by veteran opposition leader Martha Karua. She alleged that Besigye was forcibly taken to Uganda and is now being held at a military facility in Kampala.

“I request the (government) of Uganda to release my husband Dr Kizza Besigye from where he is being held immediately. He was kidnapped last Saturday while he was in Nairobi for Hon Martha Karua’s book launch. I am now reliably informed that he is in a military jail in Kampala.

We his family and his lawyers demand to see him. He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?”, she wrote on X.

According to a Reuters report, Ugandan police denied holding Besigye, while Kenya’s foreign affairs permanent secretary, Korir Singoei, stated that Kenya was not involved in the incident. Ugandan military officials have yet to comment.

Besigye has contested in four presidential elections and is known to be a fierce critic of President Yoweri Museveni. He was once Museveni’s personal doctor before falling out with him. The opposition figure has since then faced multiple arrests and alleged harassment. In July, Kenyan authorities detained and deported 36 members of Besigye’s Forum for Democratic Change party to Uganda on terrorism-related charges. The FDC members had reportedly gone for leadership training when Kenyan police apprehended them.

Concerning the recent development,  Byanyima feared for Besigye’s safety and called for his immediate release. Human rights groups have long accused Museveni’s administration of repressing free speech and targeting opposition figures with illegal detentions and other abuses. Citizens, including content creators, have also been harassed and arrested for criticising the president.

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