Ugandan opposition politician kidnapped and jailed, his wife says

The wife of prominent Ugandan opposition figure, Kizza Besigye, said on Wednesday he was kidnapped during a book launch in the Kenya on the weekend and has been transferred to a military jail in Kampala.

The physician and politician has run and lost against incumbent President Yoweri Museveni in four presidential polls since 1986, although he has rejected the results, alleging fraud and voter intimidation.

In a post on X, Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, who is executive director of UNAIDS, called for his immediate release and said his family and lawyers demanded to see him.

She also questioned why he was being in an army facility saying he was not a soldier.

One of his lawyers has since confirmed Besigye’s detention, saying his client was expected to appear in a military court for an initial hearing later on Wednesday

Several of his supporters and party officials gathered at Makindye barracks in Kampala, in anticipation of his appearance.

Besigye, who has been arrested dozens of times before, was Museveni’s personal doctor in the 1980s when the now-president was still a rebel leader.

He has since become a vocal critic of the president’s authoritarian rule and has faced numerous legal battles over his criticism of Museveni and his policies.

Museveni's government has been accused of repeated human rights violations against opposition leaders and supporters, accusations it has denied.