It has been one year since opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye was abducted from Nairobi, Kenya, and detained in Uganda, a period that his wife, Winnie Byanyima, has described as a painful reminder of Uganda’s shrinking democratic space. On November 16, 2025, Byanyima marked the grim anniversary of her husband’s arrest, a day that has come to symbolize not only the personal toll of political persecution but also the broader struggles faced by Uganda’s opposition figures under President Yoweri Museveni’s long rule.
Besigye, a veteran opposition leader and former presidential candidate, was apprehended by Ugandan security forces in a cross-border operation and transported back to Uganda, where he has been held at the Makindye Military Barracks. His arrest and detention came amidst mounting political tensions, and a year later, his case has made little progress in Uganda’s courts. Byanyima, who is also the Executive Director of UNAIDS, expressed her dismay at what she called “endless injustice” and a justice system that has been “weaponized to silence dissent.”
In a strongly-worded statement released on Sunday, Byanyima condemned the failure of the legal system to bring Besigye to trial after one year of detention. She wrote, “It is now one year since my spouse, Dr. Kizza Besigye, was abducted from Nairobi and taken to prison in Uganda. A year later, the case has not moved in court. Endless injustice: military detention, illegal confinement, denial of bail. A justice system captured.”
Besigye’s arrest came after a series of charges were brought against him, initially in the General Court Martial, including illegal possession of firearms and treason, charges that could carry the death penalty. However, in early 2025, Uganda’s Supreme Court ruled that civilians cannot be tried in military courts, forcing the government to withdraw the charges and bring the case before civilian courts. Despite this, Besigye’s trial has remained stalled, shifting between courts with little progress. His legal battles have been marked by repeated clashes with the presiding judge, Justice Emmanuel Baguma, whom Besigye has accused of bias and incompetence.
For Byanyima, Besigye’s continued incarceration is not just a legal matter—it is a political punishment. She believes that her husband’s detention is an act of revenge for his outspoken criticism of President Museveni and his long-standing opposition to what he views as a betrayal of the National Resistance Movement’s (NRM) original democratic principles. “Why is he being held? Because he has different views. Because he dared to compete for the presidency. Because in Uganda, dissent is treated as a crime,” Byanyima wrote, calling attention to the wider pattern of political repression in the country.
The continued detention of Besigye reflects the broader erosion of democratic freedoms in Uganda, according to Byanyima. She pointed out that the abuse of opposition figures, including abductions, torture, and prolonged detention, has become a disturbing norm under Museveni’s regime. She added, “Our nation’s future is being brutalised into silence,” emphasizing the danger that such tactics pose to Uganda’s democratic institutions.
Byanyima also took the opportunity to reflect on her husband’s long and storied political career, a journey that has spanned decades of resistance and sacrifice. She recounted Besigye’s earlier years, including his escape from illegal detention under the Obote II regime, his time in exile, and his pivotal role in the NRA bush war that eventually brought Museveni to power in 1986. Besigye served as Museveni’s personal physician and later as the National Political Commissar after the NRM took control. However, as Byanyima recalled, Besigye’s fallout with Museveni came in 2001, when he began to criticize the government’s failure to live up to its democratic ideals. Since then, he has faced a continuous cycle of arrests, torture, smears, and criminalization, yet he has never wavered in his commitment to the struggle for a more democratic Uganda.
“The persecution of Besigye has been ongoing for over two decades,” Byanyima wrote. “Since then, he has endured arrests, torture, smears, criminalization… but he has never wavered.” For Byanyima, the anniversary of her husband’s detention is a stark reminder of the price that opposition leaders like Besigye have had to pay for their commitment to political reform and the pursuit of democracy in Uganda.
As the anniversary of Besigye’s detention passed, Byanyima made a heartfelt plea for his immediate release, as well as that of his co-accused, Hajj Obeid Lutale, who has also been detained under similarly questionable circumstances. She argued that the continued imprisonment of both men undermines Uganda’s constitutional order and represents a stain on the country’s moral standing. “Their continued imprisonment is a stain on our country,” Byanyima concluded.
Besigye, 68, remains one of Uganda’s most prominent and enduring opposition figures. Despite the personal cost, he continues to be a central voice in the fight for political change and democratic reform in Uganda. His detention and the broader repression of opposition leaders and activists highlight the growing challenges to political freedom and human rights in the country.
As the anniversary of Besigye’s abduction fades into memory, the call for justice grows louder. Byanyima’s statement is not just a plea for her husband’s release—it is a rallying cry for all Ugandans who believe that democracy, justice, and the rule of law must prevail. The continued detention of Kizza Besigye and others like him is a reminder of the deepening crisis of political repression in Uganda, one that can only be resolved through meaningful reforms and a return to the principles of democracy and freedom that the NRM once promised.
In conclusion, the anniversary of Dr. Kizza Besigye’s abduction and imprisonment serves as a painful marker of Uganda’s ongoing struggle for democracy. The failure to move forward with his case after one year in detention only deepens the sense of injustice and the erosion of political freedoms in the country. Byanyima’s powerful words continue to shed light on the need for political reform and the release of those unjustly detained, including her husband and his co-accused, Lutale.
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