Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye is set to appear before a military court in Kampala on Wednesday, following his reported abduction in Kenya, his lawyer confirmed.
Erias Lukwago, one of Besigye’s attorneys, ealier reported that military sources had informed him that Besigye is being held in military detention in Uganda and is expected to be brought before the General Court Martial.
The exact charges against him remain unclear.
“Besigye is no stranger to military courts, having faced trumped-up charges even after leaving the army and becoming a civilian,” Lukwago said.
Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, who heads UNAIDS, took to social media to announce that her husband had been kidnapped over the weekend in Nairobi, where he was attending a book launch by Kenyan opposition politician Martha Karua.
She confirmed that Besigye, a former presidential candidate and longtime opponent of Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, is now in a military prison in Kampala.
“We, his family and legal team, demand to see him,” Byanyima wrote, expressing concern over his safety.
Besigye, a former ally of Museveni, has unsuccessfully contested the Ugandan presidency four times since 2001, becoming a key figure in the opposition.
His latest disappearance comes amid a broader crackdown on opposition leaders in Uganda, with several high-profile activists recently arrested or put on trial.
Ugandan government spokesman Chris Baryomunsi acknowledged reports of Besigye’s disappearance but stated that the authorities were still “cross-checking” the information.
“At the moment, we can’t confirm his whereabouts,” he said, adding that the government was in contact with both Ugandan and Kenyan security agencies to clarify the situation.
Besigye’s abduction follows the deportation and trial of 36 members of his former party, the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), who were arrested in Kenya and accused of terrorism. They were later released on bail.
Besigye had denounced the actions of the Ugandan government, accusing them of illegally detaining the opposition members and secretly returning them from Kenya.
Opposition leader Bobi Wine, a frequent target of government repression, condemned the abduction and called for Besigye’s immediate release.
“It is deeply shocking that Kenya, once a refuge for Ugandan dissidents, is now becoming a zone of operations for Uganda’s dictatorship,” he said on social media.
Besigye, who formed the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) earlier this year after parting ways with the FDC, has been out of contact since Saturday.colleague, Phillip Wafula Oguttu, expressed concern over his disappearance.
“We have tried reaching him, but his phone has been off”,he said
