Africa-Press – Uganda. Today marks 300 days since Dr. Kizza Besigye was detained after being abducted in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 16, 2024.
He resurfaced four days later in Kampala, Uganda, where he was arraigned before a military court alongside Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) member Haji Obeid Lutale.
The two were charged with offences related to security and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
With little hearing, Besigye was remanded to Luzira Maximum Security Prison, where he remains as investigations drag on.
He has been produced in court several times, but his trial has yet to meaningfully progress.
Besigye, Uganda’s most prominent opposition leader, is no stranger to state confrontation. In 2001, shortly after his first presidential run against President Museveni, he was arrested on allegations of plotting against the government.
Facing harassment and surveillance, he fled into exile in South Africa, where he spent four years continuing to criticise Museveni’s rule.
His dramatic return in October 2005 to prepare for the 2006 election was swiftly followed by charges of treason and rape. His arrest triggered protests, lengthy court battles, and international condemnation, reinforcing his profile as a political prisoner.
He still contested the election from remand, winning 37% of the vote against Museveni’s 59%. The results, rejected by Besigye and his FDC, were marred by accusations of rigging.
The rape case was dismissed in 2006, and he was acquitted of treason in 2010.
Through subsequent elections, his activism repeatedly clashed with state force. In 2011, he became the united opposition’s strongest candidate but was violently arrested during the Walk-to-Work protests against soaring food and fuel prices.
The brutal pepper-spray assault on him at Mulago Roundabout by police officer Gilbert Arinaitwe became a defining moment of state repression. Arinaitwe later faced criminal and disciplinary proceedings.
In 2016, Besigye contested his fourth and final presidential race. He was placed under weeks of house arrest after Museveni was declared winner.
By 2021, he had stepped aside from direct contests but remained politically active, supporting Patrick Amuriat Oboi, who succeeded him as FDC president in 2017.
Now, after nearly a year in prison, Besigye’s political future is clouded. His detention once again raises questions about the space for opposition in Uganda, where contesting Museveni has for decades been synonymous with persecution.
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