|
Listen to article
|
After disappearing during a visit to neighboring Kenya last week, a high-profile Ugandan opposition leader resurfaced in his home country on Wednesday. He was presented before a military tribunal, where he faced charges linked to national security.
Both Ugandan officials and his wife confirmed the proceedings, sparking questions about the circumstances of his return and the legal processes involved.
On Wednesday morning, Winnie Byanyima, wife of prominent Ugandan politician Kizza Besigye, disclosed on social media that her husband had been “kidnapped” over the weekend while attending a book launch in Nairobi.
Besigye, who is a former presidential candidate in Uganda, was allegedly taken to a military prison in Kampala, where he has since been held without access to legal counsel or family. While Byanyima shared this alarming information, she provided no further insight into the identity of those responsible for his abduction or the manner in which it occurred.
“He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?” said Ms. Byanyima, who is the executive director of U.N.AIDS, the United Nations program on H.I.V. and AIDS.
Read also: Kenyan Citizens Give President Ruto 48-Hour Resignation Ultimatum
Later in the day, public and private television networks in Uganda broadcast footage of Kizza Besigye at a military court in Kampala. Surrounded by heavily armed security operatives, he flashed a V-sign with his fingers, a gesture that has become synonymous with resistance.
The court ordered his detention, along with that of his associate, Haji Obeid Lutale, as they await trial on charges that include the illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, as outlined in documents reviewed by The New York Times.
Ugandan officials claim that Mr. Besigye and Mr. Lutale, along with other unnamed individuals still evading capture, convened multiple clandestine meetings in Switzerland, Greece, and Kenya over the past year.
These discussions were reportedly aimed at obtaining logistical support and plotting attacks on military installations in Uganda, a scheme authorities argue poses a significant threat to national defense.
During their appearance in court, Mr. Besigye and Mr. Lutale unequivocally denied the allegations, describing the charges as baseless and maintaining that they had no connection to the purported conspiracy targeting Uganda’s Defense Forces.
