Frail Ugandan opposition figure back in jail after brief court appearance

KAMPALA, Uganda

Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye appeared briefly in a civilian court Wednesday as attorneys tried to secure his freedom, but a judge said he was too unwell to follow proceedings.

A visibly frail Besigye, who has been detained since November, was driven back to a maximum-security prison in Kampala, the Ugandan capital.

He went missing in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on 16 November last year, and days later appeared in a cage before a military tribunal in Kampala.

Besigye was charged with offenses concerning a threat to national security, and later charged before the same tribunal with treason, an offense which under military law carries the death penalty.

His family says he began a hunger strike to protest against his continued detention after Uganda’s Supreme Court last month ruled that military tribunals cannot try civilians.

Besigye’s attorneys say he and others who faced charges before the military court should have been released immediately.

“The justice of the case required that today there should be remedy, there should be a decision and it should be instant. Unfortunately, that is not the case,” said Erias Lukwago.

“And to make matters worse we have not been given any idea or clue as to when the decision will be given,” he said.

Justice officials say they are studying the evidence against Besigye in order to charge him in a civilian court.

Besigye’s wife, UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, says her husband is being framed and is deeply concerned about his continued detention.

“I am devastated. But I am not surprised. Besigye is a captive. He was kidnapped. He is in captivity as we all are. (President Yoweri) Museveni has put all of us in captivity,” she said.

His attorney says the charges are politically motivated.

Besigye’s continued detention is attracting more attention as his supporters, activists and others warn that he needs medical care and should be removed from prison conditions.

They say any harm to him while in custody could trigger deadly unrest in this east African country.

The four-time presidential candidate is a prominent opposition figure in Uganda and was Museveni’s most serious challenger before the recent rise of the opposition figure known as Bobi Wine.

Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, said the case against Besigye was “not prosecution, this is persecution”.

“Dr Besigye would not be brought to court today if it was not for pressure. This is the same judge that said the cash bonanza at parliament was legal. At the same time, this is the same judge that is sending Dr Besigye back to prison instead of sending him to hospital,” he said.

The Commonwealth group of nations, of which Uganda is a member, has urged Ugandan authorities to free Besigye and his co-accused, an assistant named Obeid Lutale.

Amnesty International also called for Besigye’s release, saying his “abduction clearly violated international human rights law and the process of extradition with its requisite fair trial protections”.

Military prosecutors accuse Besigye of soliciting weapons in meetings in Europe with the purpose of undermining national security.

The charges have not been substantiated, but the president’s son, army commander Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has alleged that Besigye plotted to assassinate Museveni.

Besigye’s case is being watched closely by Ugandans anxious over political manoeuvres ahead of presidential elections next year.

Uganda has never witnessed a peaceful transfer of presidential power since independence from colonial rule six decades ago.