‘Kidnapped’ Uganda opposition figure Besigye appears in military court

Leading Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye appeared in a military court in Kampala on Wednesday after his reported abduction in neighbouring Kenya.

The manner of Besigye’s detention has caused an uproar, with concerns over Kenya’s role and the heightened crackdown on the opposition in Uganda.

Besigye, 68, was brought to the General Court Martial in handcuffs and under a heavily armed military escort, his lawyer Erias Lukwago told AFP.

“Besigye has objected to his trial before the General Court Martial and informed the court chairman that he is a civilian who should not be tried in a military court,” said Lukwago, adding that the charges against him were not known.

An ally-turned-foe of veteran President Yoweri Museveni, Besigye has run unsuccessfully against him in presidential elections four times since 2001 and has often been targeted by the regime.

His wife Winnie Byanyima, who is head of UNAIDS, the United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS, said on X that her husband was kidnapped Saturday while in Nairobi for a book launch by Kenyan opposition politician Martha Karua.

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In recent months, Ugandan authorities have waged a crackdown on the opposition, arresting prominent leaders and putting dozens on trial.

In July, 36 members of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) — the party Besigye founded two decades ago — were deported from Kenya and tried in Uganda on terrorism charges.

After their arrest, Besigye denounced the “junta” in power and claimed the 36 “were illegally detained and sneaked back from Kenya”.

‘Can be arrested anywhere’

Besigye, a medical doctor who was once Museveni’s personal doctor, recently broke from the FDC, forming a new party called the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF).

“You can be arrested from anywhere because countries have treaties or instruments that they signed between them that allow for extradition,” Ugandan government spokesman Chris Baryomunsi told reporters Wednesday.

“So being arrested from Kenya would not be a problem,” he added, insisting the government does not believe in “abducting people” and keeping them “incommunicado”.

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But rights groups are increasingly concerned that Kenya is colluding in the kidnapping of foreign nationals on its soil.

Last month, the Kenyan government admitted that four Turkish refugees had been repatriated to Turkey following reports that they were abducted and forcibly returned without due process.

The Law Society of Kenya said “we strongly condemn” Besigye’s arrest, saying it was “against not only our local but also international laws”.

‘Back to dark days’

Bobi Wine, another prominent Ugandan opposition leader frequently targeted by the authorities, also voiced outrage.

“We condemn this blatant abuse of the law by the regime here in Uganda, and sadly the authorities in Kenya,” he said in a post on X.

“We are back to the dark days when Ugandans were casually picked from the streets of Nairobi and returned to Uganda to be tortured, jailed and others executed.”

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Museveni and Besigye were once close, fighting together in the 1980s bush war to overthrow Milton Obote, with Besigye serving as Museveni’s trusted personal physician.

They became foes when Besigye broke ranks with the ruling National Resistance Movement and ran for the presidency in 2001, later forming the FDC with other disaffected NRM members.

Lately, the opposition has been concerned about the meteoric rise of Museveni’s son Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is now head of Uganda’s defence forces.

Besigye married Byanyima, who was previously romantically linked to Museveni, in 1999.

Over the years, Besigye has faced multiple arrests and spurious charges including rape and treason, while he and his supporters have often been teargassed, beaten and harassed.

– By: © Agence France-Presse