Wed Nov 20 10:01:45 UTC 2024: ## Ugandan Opposition Leader Besigye Allegedly Kidnapped in Kenya, Held in Military Jail

**Kampala, Uganda** – Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS and wife of prominent Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye, has accused the Ugandan government of kidnapping her husband from Nairobi, Kenya, and detaining him in a military jail in Kampala.

Besigye, a long-time critic of President Yoweri Museveni, was reportedly in Nairobi attending a book launch when he was seized last Saturday. Byanyima, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), demanded his immediate release, questioning his imprisonment in a military facility. “He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?” she wrote.

One of Besigye’s lawyers, Erias Lukwago, confirmed that Besigye is expected to appear before a military court on Wednesday. Lukwago stated that information from within the military suggests Besigye is in military cells and will be presented to the General Court Martial. The charges against him remain unclear.

Ugandan authorities have offered conflicting statements. Police spokesperson Kituuma Rusoke denied any knowledge of Besigye’s whereabouts, while the government and military have remained silent. Kenya’s foreign affairs principal secretary, Korir Singoei, also denied Kenyan involvement in the alleged abduction.

This incident follows a July arrest and deportation of 36 members of Besigye’s Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party from Kenya, who were subsequently charged with terrorism in Uganda. Besigye, a former personal physician to Museveni, has been repeatedly arrested throughout his career as an opposition leader. He has contested and lost four presidential elections against Museveni, consistently alleging electoral fraud and intimidation.

The Ugandan government has consistently denied accusations of human rights abuses against opposition figures, including illegal detentions and torture, a pattern that has persisted throughout Museveni’s decades-long rule. The alleged abduction of Besigye has once again drawn international attention to these ongoing concerns.

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