Uganda’s opposition leader Kizza Besigye was allegedly abducted while in Nairobi on Saturday, November 16, 2024.
According to Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, the politician went missing while in Nairobi to attend the launch of Martha Karua’s memoir, ‘Against The Tide’.
In a statement on Wednesday November 20, 2024, Winnie Byanyima appealed to the Ugandan Government to release her husband.
“I request the government of Uganda to release my husband Kizza Besigye from where he is being held immediately,” Byanyima noted in a statement posted on social media.
At the same time, she disclosed that reliable reports indicate her husband is being held at a military jail in Kampala, Uganda.
“He was kidnapped last Saturday while in Nairobi for Hon Martha Karua’s book launch. I am now reliably informed that he is in a military jail in Kampala,” she added.
“We, his family and his lawyers, demand to see him. He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?”
Karua also demanded for the release of Besigye, while calling on Uganda’s President Kaguta Museveni and his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto to ensure his safety.
Additionally, Karua urged the African Union Commission chairperson Moussa Faki, the United Nations Human Rights Commission and the entire East African Community to intervene and ensure the Ugandan opposition politician is freed.
