Leading Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye has been kidnapped from a book launch in Kenya and is being held in a military facility in Kampala, according to his wife Winnie Byanyima, marking the latest chapter in Uganda’s ongoing political tensions.
Byanyima, who serves as executive director of UNAIDS, revealed Wednesday that her husband was abducted Saturday during the launch of a book by veteran Kenyan opposition politician Martha Karua. “I am now reliably informed that he is in a military jail in Kampala,” Byanyima stated on social media platform X. “We his family and his lawyers demand to see him. He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?”
Besigye, a former physician to President Yoweri Museveni during Uganda’s guerrilla war, has emerged as one of the president’s most vocal critics. He has unsuccessfully challenged Museveni in four presidential elections, consistently alleging electoral fraud and voter intimidation in each contest.
The reported abduction follows a pattern of tension between Ugandan opposition figures and authorities. In July, Kenyan officials detained and deported 36 members of Besigye’s Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party to Uganda, where they faced terrorism-related charges.
Ugandan authorities have provided conflicting responses to inquiries about Besigye’s whereabouts. Police spokesman Kituuma Rusoke told Reuters, “As police we don’t have him, so we can’t make any comment,” while military officials were unavailable for immediate response. Kenyan police have not addressed the alleged cross-border abduction.
The incident adds to mounting concerns about human rights abuses against opposition figures in Uganda. Museveni’s government faces persistent accusations of illegal detentions, torture, and extra-judicial killings targeting opposition leaders and supporters. Government officials routinely deny these allegations, maintaining that all arrests and detentions follow legal procedures and proper judicial processes.
Besigye’s reported detention has drawn particular attention due to his high profile and the cross-border nature of his alleged abduction, raising questions about regional cooperation in political persecution. His wife’s public demand for his release underscores growing international scrutiny of Uganda’s treatment of political opponents.
