- On 16 November last year, Kizza Besigye and Haji Obeid Lutale were abducted from Nairobi.
- They resurfaced on 20 November when they were arraigned in General Court Martial in Kampala, Uganda and charged with offences relating to security and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
- Kizza Besigye, 68, is currently on a hunger strike in a military detention centre where he is reported to be in ill health.
Amnsety International has thrown its weight behind increasing calls for authorities in Uganda to release opposition chief Kizza Besigye who is currently on a hunger strike in a military detention centre.
In a statement on Friday, Amnesty International noted that the former presidential candidate who ran against President Yoweri Museveni is grappling with deteriorating health.
Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, Tigere Chagutah, said: “Ugandan authorities must immediately respect the Supreme Court order, uphold the rule of law and stop trying civilians in military courts”
He added, “The continued arbitrary detention of Kizza Besigye, FDC member Haji Obeid Lutale and their lawyer Eron Kiiza is an infringement on their rights to personal liberty under Uganda’s Constitution and international human rights law. The trio’s detention has no legal basis. This travesty of justice must stop.”
The Supreme Court ordered that “all charges or ongoing criminal trials, or pending trials, before the courts martial involving civilians must immediately cease and be transferred to the ordinary courts of law with complete jurisdiction.”
“Amnesty International demands the immediate release of Kizza Besigye and Haji Obeid Lutale due to the nature of their abduction and rendition, which clearly violated international human rights law and the process of extradition with its fair trial protections.
“Prison authorities must also release lawyer, Eron Kiiza, who the General Court Martial convicted of “contempt of court” and sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment without a fair trial. The authorities must stop targeting lawyers simply for doing their job.”
Why Kizza Besigye is in custody
On 16 November, Kizza Besigye and Haji Obeid Lutale were abducted from Nairobi, the Kenyan capital city. They resurfaced on 20 November when they were arraigned in General Court Martial in Kampala, Uganda and charged with offences relating to security and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition.
They were remanded at Luzira Maximum Security Prison in Kampala, Uganda, where they are still detained even after the 31 January 2025 Supreme Court ruling that trying civilians in military courts is unconstitutional.
On 5 February 2025, lawyers of Kizza Besigye filed a petition in the High Court in Kampala to have him and Obeid Lutale produced before that court. On 7 February 2025, lawyers for Eron Kiiza, made a similar application for their client in the same court.
Latest reports show that Kizza Besigye, 68, and a former presidential candidate for the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) political party has gone on hunger strike and his health is worsening.
The charges against Kizza Besigye
Earlier, Uganda army spokesman Chris Magezi noted that: “Under no circumstances will Colonel Kizza Besigye be released until he faces the full extent of martial law.”
He added, “The General Court Martial will continue to try anyone who conspires to murder the president, commits armed rebellion against Uganda and engages in terrorism against the people of Uganda.”
Rights groups and well as the United Nations have called out authorities in Uganda, voicing their concerns about continuted suppression of the opposition in the country in the run-up to next year’s presidential election. The incumbent, Yoweri Museveni, 80, will have been in power for 40 years when Ugandans go to the polls in 2026
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