Prominent Uganda opposition figure kidnapped and jailed
On Tuesday, Kiza Besigye was reported to be missing in Nairobi city, Kenya. Kizza Besigye is a longtime critic of strongman President Yoweri Museveni.
Wednesday, Besigye appeared in a Kampala military court where he faced charges including unlawful possession of firearms. He was remanded to prison until December 2, according to a Reuters witness in court. He denied all charges brought against him.
Besigye’s wife questioned why he was being held in military jail despite not being a soldier.
The wife of well-known opposition politician Kizza Besigye said on Wednesday that her husband had been kidnapped in Kenya and was now in jail in Uganda.
“I request the [government] of Uganda to release my husband Dr. Kizza Besigye, from where he is being held immediately,” Winnie Byanyima said.
“We his family and his lawyers demand to see him. He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?” said Byanyima, who is the executive director of the United Nations HIV/AIDS agency (UNAIDS).