Uganda: Opposition Politician Kizza Besigye Arrested

A prominent Ugandan opposition politician, Kizza Besigye, was abducted during a book launch in Kenya over the weekend, transferred to Uganda, and is currently being held at a military jail in Kampala, his wife said on Wednesday. In a post on X, Winnie Byanyima wrote that her husband had been captured in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, last Saturday during a book launch event. "I am now reliably informed that he is in a military jail in Kampala," she said, demanding that the government of Uganda release her husband. Army spokesperson Felix Kulayigye told the Uganda Radio Network agency that Besigye w

A prominent Ugandan opposition politician, Kizza Besigye, was abducted during a book launch in Kenya over the weekend, transferred to Uganda, and is currently being held at a military jail in Kampala, his wife said on Wednesday.

In a post on X, Winnie Byanyima wrote that her husband had been captured in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, last Saturday during a book launch event.

"I am now reliably informed that he is in a military jail in Kampala," she said, demanding that the government of Uganda release her husband.

Army spokesperson Felix Kulayigye told the Uganda Radio Network agency that Besigye would be arraigned in court later.

Uganda's Daily Monitor newspaper reported that senior members of his Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party had gathered at Makindye military court in Kampala, expecting him to appear there.

Kenya's state-funded human rights body, KNHRC, has condemned "any form of abduction of those seeking asylum in our country."

Besigye, 68, led the FDC, contesting and losing four presidential elections against incumbent Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986.

Besigye was Museveni's physician during the guerrilla war but later became an outspoken critic. He has been arrested many times.