By Jako David Waluluka
The alleged past midnight distress phone calls from the Uganda Prison Services, in Luzira, to the family of the caged and on hunger strike Dr .Col. Kizza Besigye Kifefe over his failing health speaks volumes.
Edith Byanyima, sister to Eng. Winnie Byanyima claimed that the calls were intended to not only inform them of the critical status of Dr. Besigye but to also zero in on his personal doctors as a matter of urgency.
Following the engagement, Dr Besigye, the Peoples Front for Freedom ( PFF) founder was rushed to ‘ the Clinic’ a private health facility based in Bugolobi. This development worried many as contrary to the standard known procedure of referral to Mulago Hospital, as regards incarcerated patients of his status would require.
Speculation was then rife, that Dr. Besigye, might have been very sick that he may have required emergency first aid to stabilize his suspected condition. Others claim that this would have simply been a humane gesture by the prison authorities, to refer Dr. Besigye to his personal doctors albeit the official procedure to save his life.
This, however , was rashly thawed by the Minister for ICT and National Guidance, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, saying that while he is weak, there is no cause for extreme concern.
“When I visited Dr. Kizza Besigye, yes, he is weak, but from a medical standpoint, he is not in that condition where you would be extremely worried,” Baryomunsi said.
This was rubbished by Dr Besigye’s wife Winnie, who claimed that had been denied access to her husband at the time, in what she believes was a bid to hide the alarming health status of her husband. Dr. Besigye, began a hunger strike as his time spent in detention awaiting trial nears three months.
Besigye alongside his associate Haj Obeid Lutale were clandestinely arrested by Ugandan security operatives in the Kenyan Capital Nairobi and briskly whisked to Kampala, and later charged in a military court with possession of pistols and attempting to purchase weapons abroad.
The duo refused to take a plea and were given a ray of hope by a supreme court judgement on 31st January 2025, which ordered that civilians must not be tried in a military court martial.
With a beacon of hope for freedom, theirs was dashed when at the advice of the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, said that their case files would be referred to police investigators for perusal.
Since then, the four-time presidential candidate that has a record for the most arrested opposition political leader in Uganda, escalated his hunger strike against his continued detention with a manner of all charges, most of which he has won in court.
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance where participants fast as an act of political protest, usually intending to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. This new format of ‘war’ is a far cry from the battles that Dr. Besigye, was used to in the early days of his opposition resolve.
With the backdrop of a history of personal ill health and management, one would believe that Dr Besigye is now ready to sacrifice his life for what he terms as political freedom and the rebirth of Uganda.
