The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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Winnie Byanyima, wife of veteran Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, has called for her husband’s immediate release, accusing the Uganda Prison Service of concealing the true state of his health and denying him proper medical care.
In a statement on Wednesday, Byanyima said Besigye’s condition is rapidly deteriorating while authorities continue to mislead the public and restrict access to adequate treatment.
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“I demand that Kizza Besigye be released immediately and allowed to return home to be cared for by his family and doctors,” she said. “The baseless charges against him must also be dropped. His life is at risk, and responsibility lies with those denying him care.”
Her statement followed comments from Uganda Prison Service spokesperson Frank Baine, who claimed Besigye was not ill and had only gone for a routine check-up. Byanyima called these claims “blatant lies” and said they contradicted court submissions that forced the postponement of Besigye’s hearing to February 24 due to his illness.
During a visit to Luzira Prison on Tuesday, Byanyima said she was eventually allowed to see Besigye after more than two hours of negotiations. She described finding him “huddled in a dirty plastic chair in a small room near his cell, extremely weak,” struggling to walk, in pain, and unable to eat solid food.
She added that the prison doctor acknowledged Besigye’s personal doctor had reported worsening test results for his infection. Despite this, authorities refused to transfer him to a fully equipped private hospital, insisting instead on admitting him to Murchison Bay Prison Hospital, which Byanyima described as “notorious for neglect and preventable deaths” under army control.
Besigye rejected the proposal, insisting on treatment by his own doctor in a private facility.
Byanyima called the situation “cruel, dangerous and unlawful,” urging the prison authorities and government to explain why Besigye is being denied proper medical care, why the public has been misled, and why a seriously ill detainee is being treated inhumanely.
Besigye, leader of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), has been detained since November 2024 along with his associate Obeid Lutale, following a dramatic arrest in Kenya. He faces charges of treason, illegal possession of a firearm, and threatening national security—charges he denies.
This is not the first time Besigye has fallen ill while at Luzira Prison. Reports last February also indicated he was unwell while in custody.
