The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Minutes after political opposition members gave government an ultimatum of 48 hours to release Dr Kizza Besigye, NUP’s Head of Mobilisation Fred Nyanzi Ssentamu was forced into a car and driven off by heavily armed men believed to be Ugandan security operatives.
“Our comrade and Head of Mobilisation for comrade Nyanzi Fred Ssentamu has been abducted by heavily armed men and taken away in a drone to an unknown destination! He has been abducted on gunpoint from Kubbiri Roundabout.,” said NUP party leader Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine on X.
Opposition groups, led by the National Unity Platform (NUP), met at the party’s headquarter today to discuss a joint approach to address the ongoing imprisonment of Dr. Kizza Besigye.
Dr. Kizza Besigye and his political associate, Haji Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya, were charged in the General Court Martial for being found in possession of firearms and ammunition, which are reserved for the armed forces. Besigye was also later charged with treachery.
The duo was kidnapped in November of last year from Kenya, where they had gone to attend the launch of a book by Martha Karua, a former minister and opposition leader. Since then, they have been held on remand at Luzira Prison, following orders from the Court Martial.
However, ever since the Supreme Court ruled that military courts are not courts of judicature but rather tribunals that can’t try civilians, Besigye has said he must be released from prison because he is being held there illegally. Last week he started on a hunger strike to force the government to heed to his demands.
Before announcing the meeting of opposition leaders under their banner force of change, Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, Joel Ssenyonyi, the Leader of Opposition, Alice Alaso, the Secretary General of the Alliance for National Transformation, Winnie Kiiza, the former Leader of Opposition among others visited Luzira prison with hope of seeing Besigye.
However, they were unable to see him because of his medical condition. Kyagulanyi, called upon all Ugandans to do something in order to exert pressure on the government to release Besigye. He said there is no doubt that Besigye’s condition is critical and that the country will not be able to forgive itself if Besigye were to die in prison.
For his part, Joel Ssenyonyi said that there is no doubt that everything that must be done should be done to save not only Dr Besigye but all political prisoners. He said instead of people starting pointing fingers of who has not done enough to drum up Beisgye’s plight, everybody should do whatever is in their powers to break the government’s recalcitrancy.
Ssenyonyi also observed that as the opposition caucus, they will be meeting tomorrow at parliament to see what more they can do to bring pressure to bear on government.
For her part, Alice Alaso called on the prison authorities not to be accomplices in disregarding the ruling of the Supreme Court which ruled that civilians can’t be tried by military courts. Alaso said releasing Besigye from prison is in the interest of everybody including the NRM.
Speaking at the same gathering outside Luzira prisons, Winnie Kiiza said that the right place that Dr Kizza Besigye should be in hospital. She said an attack on Besigye is an attack on everybody and must be resisted.
Meanwhile, the deputy presidential press secretary Faruk Kirunda said the continued detention of Besigye has nothing to do with the views of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on the Supreme Court ruling. Museveni criticized the ruling as very wrong as it had disregarded the noble role of the military courts. Writing on his X page, Kirunda said if Besigye’s people want him to get out of prison, they should follow the legal process.
“I appreciate the concerns on Dr. Besigye’s case and sympathise with the family. However, there is no need for alarm but rather understanding of what has to be done. There is a process to transferring his case to the civilian court. The DPP has indicated that steps are already being taken to comply with the decision of the Supreme Court. Moreover, Besigye isn’t under military detention. He is in Luzira, and the family can visit him normally in consultation with the prisons authorities. If he is on hunger strike, the family should encourage him to accept nourishment as his legal team prepares to secure for him bail or any other relief. The President’s views on the Supreme Court ruling have nothing to do with Besigye’s detention. It’s the process that’s taking some time. Let all the concerned do their part to conclude this matter,” Kirunda said.
Ever since Besigye’s rather frail pictures while he appeared in the court last week for an unrelated matter, circulated online, pressure has been piling on the government to release him. Over the weekend, the Uganda Medical Association and members of Besigye’s family said there was urgent need for him to seek medical attention.
As if to respond to these demands, Prison authorities took Besigye to his doctors at Bugolobi and later wheeled him back to Luzira prison. Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Défense Forces has said, the only way Besigye is going to get out of prison is either when he is dead on after apologizing to him and his father President Museveni.
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