The wife of detained Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye has denounced the ban on prisoners receiving visitors on Christmas Day, describing it as “cruel and inhuman”.
Besigye (68 years old) was accused before a military court of possessing pistols and trying to buy weapons from abroad, which he denies. His trial was postponed until next month.
Prison authorities say that as part of measures to prevent “possible security vulnerabilities”, ieColleagues will not be allowed to visit For seven days, starting on Christmas Eve.
Besigye's wife, Winnie Byanyima, head of the UN HIV and AIDS agency, said she planned to set up a camp outside Luzira prison so she could see her husband and give him food on Christmas Day.
She told the BBC that her husband remained “strong and persevering” in a “little little room” behind the six prison gates, but she was worried he might be “harmed”.
“I will not leave Besigye’s food at the gate (as directed). I will go there and see my husband because I don’t trust them with him even for a day,” Byanyima said.
“Maybe I'll take a tent and sleep there… if that's what they want,” she added.
Besigye ran in four presidential elections and lost to President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986.
But the veteran opposition politician has been less active in politics in recent years, and did not compete in the 2021 elections.
However, Besigye returned to the headlines last month after he was dramatically kidnapped while visiting Kenya and forcibly taken to Uganda.
He was then charged with his assistant, Obaid Loutale. He also denied these accusations.
The military court extended Besigye's detention until January 7, dashing his family's hopes that he would return home for Christmas.
Uganda Prison Services spokesman Frank Payne Mayanja told local media that the seven-day ban on visitors is aimed at tightening security measures during the festive season and preventing escapes.
“Christmas causes excitement and the majority of prisoners do not want to spend Christmas inside. They must be planning how to escape and get out of prison,” Mayanja told NTV Uganda.
The Prison Service initially announced a ban on prison visits for about a month, but later reduced the ban to seven days.
Byanyima told the BBC she was also concerned about the recent change in leadership at Luzira prison, and questioned why a “young and inexperienced” official was put in charge.
She added: “It is very suspicious and makes me doubt their intentions.”
Byanyima added: “I do not trust him (Besigye) to live with those who kidnapped him. I will endeavor to see him as much as I can.”
Mayanja said the leadership changes were an “administrative matter” and had nothing to do with Besigye..
He added that Mrs. Byanyima should trust the authorities to take care of her husband because “we have the means and mechanism to keep him alive.”
“I think she should allow us to do our job,” Mr Mayanja said.
This is the second time Besigye, who has had disputes with Museveni's government over the past two decades, has spent the Christmas holiday in prison.
In 2005, he was arrested while returning from a political rally before the 2006 presidential elections and charged with treason. The courts dropped the charges.
He was also accused of rape in a separate case. The charges were later dropped. He said that all the accusations were part of a political persecution campaign
In the latest case, Besigye objected to being tried before a military court, saying he should be tried before a civilian court if there was any case against him.
Museveni He defended the use of military courts to try civilians.
He said that any crime involving a weapon is dealt with in a military court to ensure the stability of the country, as civilian courts take a long time to deal with these cases.
Hundreds of civilians have been tried in Ugandan military courts, although the Constitutional Court has ruled against the practice.
Opposition parties have often complained about restrictions on political activities, claiming that Museveni fears political competition.
Museveni's supporters deny these allegations and say he maintained stability during his nearly 40-year rule.
