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The wife of detained Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye has criticized the ban on prisoner visits during Christmas as “cruel and inhumane.”
Besigye, 68, faces charges in a military court for possessing firearms and attempting to purchase weapons abroad, which he denies. His trial has been postponed until next month.
Prison authorities announced that, to prevent potential security risks, inmates would not be allowed visitors for seven days starting on Christmas Eve.
Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, who leads the UN organization combating HIV and AIDS, expressed plans to stay outside Luzira Prison to see her husband and bring him food on Christmas Day. She told the BBC that Besigye remains “strong and persevering” despite being confined in a small cell behind six prison gates, though she is concerned for his safety.
“I’m not leaving Besigye’s food at the gate as directed. I will go and see my husband because I don’t trust them with him, even for a single day,” Byanyima said, adding, “Maybe I will take a tent and sleep there, if that’s what they want.”
Besigye, a long-time opponent of President Yoweri Museveni, has contested four presidential elections, all of which he lost. He did not run in the 2021 election but made headlines last month when he was abducted in Kenya and forcibly returned to Uganda. He and his aide, Obeid Lutale, were charged, which they both deny.
Besigye’s detention was extended until January 7, preventing him from returning home for Christmas. Uganda Prisons Services spokesperson Frank Baine Mayanja explained that the seven-day visitor ban was a security measure to prevent escapes during the festive period.
“Christmas excites many prisoners, and they may attempt a prison break,” Mayanja said. The initial visitor ban was set for almost a month, but it was later reduced to seven days.
Byanyima also raised concerns over the recent change in leadership at Luzira Prison, questioning the appointment of a “young and inexperienced” official. She expressed distrust towards the authorities, stating, “I do not trust his [Besigye’s] life with those who abducted him. I will seek to see him as often as I can.”
Mayanja responded that the leadership changes were an administrative matter and unrelated to Besigye. He urged Byanyima to trust the authorities, saying, “We have the means and mechanisms to keep him alive.”
This marks the second time Besigye has spent Christmas in prison. In 2005, he was arrested ahead of the 2006 presidential election and charged with treason, though the charges were later dropped. He has also faced other politically motivated charges over the years.
In this case, Besigye has objected to being tried by a military court, insisting that if there is a case against him, it should be heard in a civilian court. President Museveni has defended the use of military courts for crimes involving firearms, arguing that it ensures stability in the country, as civilian courts take too long to process cases.
Despite the Constitutional Court ruling against the practice, many civilians have been tried in Uganda’s military courts. Opposition parties often claim that these practices reflect Museveni’s fear of political competition, while his supporters argue that his long rule has ensured stability in the country.
