Kizza Besigye, a leading Ugandan opposition figure, has been allegedly abducted in Nairobi and is currently detained in a military facility in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, according to his wife, Winnie Byanyima, a senior UN official.
Byanyima, who serves as the Executive Director of UNAIDS, took to social media on Tuesday to demand the immediate release of her husband, questioning the legality of his detention in a military prison. “Why is my husband, a civilian, being held in a military facility?” she asked, urging the Ugandan authorities to release Dr. Kizza Besigye without delay.
Besigye, a vocal critic of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, was reportedly abducted last Saturday while attending a book launch in Nairobi, hosted by Kenyan opposition leader Martha Karua. His disappearance prompted widespread concern, with Ugandan media initially reporting on his sudden absence. Byanyima later confirmed that Besigye, aged 68, is being held in a military jail in Kampala.
Once a close ally of President Museveni, Besigye served as his personal physician during Uganda’s bush war in the 1980s. However, their relationship soured after Besigye broke away from the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) to challenge Museveni’s presidency in 2001. Over the years, Besigye has been the target of multiple arrests, physical assaults, and harassment by Ugandan authorities.
The abduction comes amid growing concerns over the increasing repression of opposition groups in Uganda. Earlier this year, 36 members of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), the party Besigye helped found, were deported from Kenya and later charged with terrorism in Uganda. Besigye denounced the government’s actions, accusing them of illegally detaining the FDC members.
