Uganda’s Kizza Besigye will spend Christmas in prison without family visit

The wife of detained Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye has denounced the ban on prisoners receiving visits on Christmas Day as “cruel and inhumane”.

Besigye, 68, has been charged in a military court with possession of pistols and attempting to buy weapons abroad, something he denies. His trial has been delayed until next month.

Prison authorities say that, as part of measures to avoid “possible security lapses,” iCompanions would not be allowed visitors. for seven days, starting on Christmas Eve.

Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, head of the UN organization to combat HIV and AIDS, said she planned to camp outside Luzira prison so she could see her husband and give him food on Christmas Day.

She told the BBC that her husband remains “strong and persevering” in a “small room” behind six prison doors, but she worries he could be “harmed.”

“I will not leave Besigye’s food at the door (as instructed). I will go there and see my husband because I do not trust them even for a single day,” Byanyima said.

“Maybe take a tent and sleep there… if that’s what they want,” he added.

Besigye has contested and lost four presidential elections against President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986.

But the veteran opposition politician has been less active in politics in recent years and did not run in the 2021 elections.

Besigye, however, returned to the headlines last month after he was dramatically kidnapped while visiting Kenya and forcibly taken to Uganda.

He was then charged along with an assistant, Obeid Lutale. He has also denied the charges.

The military court extended Besigye’s detention until January 7, dashing his family’s hopes that he would return home for Christmas.

Uganda Correctional Services spokesperson Frank Baine Mayanja told local media that the seven-day ban on visitors was aimed at beefing up security during the festive season and preventing escapes.

“Christmas causes excitement and most prisoners do not want to spend Christmas inside. They must be planning how to escape from prison and get out,” Mr Mayanja told NTV Uganda.

Correctional Services had initially announced a nearly month-long ban on prison visits, but later reduced it to seven days.

Byanyima told the BBC she was also concerned about the recent change of leadership at Luzira prison and questioned why a “young and inexperienced” official had been put in charge.

“It’s very suspicious and makes me doubt his intentions,” he said.

“I do not trust his (Besigye’s) life to those who kidnapped him. I will try to see him as often as I can,” Mrs Byanyima added.

Mayanja said the leadership changes were an “administrative matter” and had nothing to do with Besigye..

He added that Mrs Byanyima should trust the authorities to take care of her husband because “we have the means and mechanism to keep him alive.”

“I think you should let us do our job,” Mayanja said.

This is the second time Besigye, who has clashed with Museveni’s government for the past two decades, has spent the Christmas holidays in prison.

In 2005, he was arrested while returning from a political rally ahead of the 2006 presidential election and charged with treason. The charges were dismissed by the courts.

He was also charged with rape in a separate case. The charges were later dropped. He said all the accusations were part of a campaign of political persecution.

In the latest case, Besigye has opposed being tried by a military court, saying he should be tried in a civilian court if there is any case against him.

Museveni has defended the use of military courts to try civilians.

He said any crime involving a firearm was dealt with in a military court to ensure the country’s stability, as civilian courts took too long to deal with cases.

Hundreds of civilians have been tried in Uganda’s military courts, despite the Constitutional Court ruling against the practice.

Opposition parties have frequently complained about restrictions on political activities, alleging that Museveni fears political competition.

Museveni’s supporters deny the allegation and say he has maintained stability during his nearly 40-year rule.