Kampala, February 12 — Detained Ugandan opposition politician, Dr. Kiiza Besigye, has began a hunger strike, two weeks after the country’s Supreme Court banned the military court Martial from trying civilians in a landmark ruling.
The ruling angered President Museveni, who dismissed it as “a wrong decision” and vowed to challenge the ruling. He said his government would continue to prosecute civilians in military courts despite the Supreme Court’s ruling.
In a late Tuesday post on her X platform, Besigye’s wife Winnie Byanyima said “Kizza Besigye is on hunger strike, detained illegally by a regime that fears his defiance more than it respects the law.”
Winnie Byanyima, who is the executive director of United Nations agency UNAIDS, added “They think they can break his spirit, but they underestimate his resolve. (Besigye) will not yield while the regime tramples on justice.”
But the Uganda Prisons spokesperson, Frank Baine, denied Byanyima’s claim regarding her husband ‘s hunger strike saying that “Besigye is OK and he is not on a hunger strike.”
Besigye, 68, was dramatically abducted while visiting Kenya last November 2024 with his aide Obeid Lutale and forcibly brought back to Uganda and charged in a military court with possession of pistols and attempting to purchase weapons abroad – accusations which he denies.
Opposition leader, Dr. Kiiza Besigye (Right) and his Aide Obeid Lutale in a steel dock before the military Court Martial in Makindye.
On Tuesday, the opposition politician was expected to appear before a civilian court for a hearing on a 2022 case in which he is accused of holding an unlawful demonstration. However, he did not attend the hearing, citing health reasons.
In 2005, Besigye was arrested while returning from a political rally ahead of the 2006 presidential polls and charged with treason. The charges were thrown out by the courts.
He was also charged with rape in a separate case. The charges were later dropped. He said all the allegations were part of a campaign of political persecution.
Besigye was Museveni’s personal doctor during the 1980s bush war, but the two men later fell out.
He has contested and lost four presidential elections against Museveni, who has been in power since 1986. He rejected the results of all those votes, citing irregularities that the authorities denied.
The veteran opposition figure has previously accused the Ugandan authorities of political persecution.
Human rights activists have accused Museveni’s government of widespread human rights abuses, including torture and arbitrary detention. The government has repeatedly denied allegations of election fraud and rights violations.
