Besigye has not eaten for 5 days, wife says after visit to ‘horrid’ prison

Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye’s wife Winnie Byanyima has accused the country’s first family of being behind her husband’s detention.

In a series of posts on social media platform X, Byanyima accused Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and his son, who serves as the chief of Ugandan defence forces, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, of kidnapping Besigye.

“Kizza Besigye is weak, has lost alarming weight, and is dizzy—he hasn’t eaten in 5 days. This is not just illegal detention; it is kidnapping. I am outraged and demand that Kaguta Museveni and his son, the army chief, release him immediately. He is a citizen with rights—just like them!”

Describing the horrid series of events, Byanyima said that she visited her husband in his prison cell on Monday.

“He was lying on a small bed that occupies the whole length of the room. A pile of old newspapers and two old cardboard boxes next to his bed left room for one stool to sit on,” she narrated.

Accessing the cell was no mean feat, with Byanyima noting that there were about six or seven locked doors that she had to go through before getting to Besigye’s room, along a ‘dark and narrow corridor’.

 “Someone told me that this is the special prison for suspected terrorists. It was very painful to find Besigye in such humiliating circumstances,” she added.

She also dismissed reports that the 68-year-old long-time political opponent and critic of Museveni willingly met Information Minister Chris Baryomunsi in his prison cell.

“Besigye made it clear—he neither invited nor consented to seeing Baryomunsi. A prison officer forced him into the room. Baryomunsi lied about having a conversation,” she added.

She added that claims by the Minister were not only wild but unfounded, as he literally forced himself into Besigye’s cell and declared him ‘well’.

According to Byanyima, who serves as the Executive Director of the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), complaints by Besigye to his jailers about the invasion of his privacy were brushed off.

“Besigye remained completely silent in protest. Baryomunsi ranted, heard not a single word in response, and left. The impunity is staggering. The humiliation is endless. No one should be subjected to this.”

Kizza Besigye, held at a maximum security facility in Kampala since November, was allegedly "kidnapped" in Kenya and forcibly returned to Uganda, according to his lawyers.

He was subsequently charged in the military's General Court Martial (GCM) with offenses including illegal weapons possession.

Ugandan police arrested several activists on Monday, including Deputy Lord Mayor Nyanjura Doreen and Ingrid Turinawe, accusing them of inciting violence during a protest demanding the release of Besigye.

National Unity Platform (NUP) officials Fred Nyanzi (who is Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine's brother) and Alex Waiswa Mufumbiro were also arrested.

The arrests followed an ultimatum issued to President Museveni by NUP and other opposition parties, demanding Besigye's release within 48 hours.