Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye’s wife Winnie Byanyima has said that he is weak and dizzy after she was allowed a prison visit.
In a statement, Winnie said her husband has not eaten anything over the last five days and has lost a lot of weight.
She noted that it is painful to see her husband in such a ‘humiliating’ state.
She demanded Besigye’s immediate release, from the prison cells she described as a place used to hold terrorists.
“I visited Kizza Besigye in his prison cell today. He was lying on a small bed that occupies the whole length of the room. A pile of old newspapers and 2 old cardboard boxes next to his bed left room for one stool to sit on. There were about six or seven locked doors that I went through before getting to his room, which is along a dark and narrow corridor. Someone told me that this is the special prison for suspected terrorists. It was very painful to find Kizza Besigye in such humiliating circumstances.
“Besigye is weak, has lost alarming weight, and is dizzy—he hasn’t eaten in 5 days. This is not just illegal detention, it is kidnapping. I am outraged and demand that (President) Kaguta Museveni and his son, the army chief, release him immediately. He is a citizen with rights—just like them!” Winnie said on X.
She went on to say that Besigye confirmed to her that he did not have any conversation with Ugandan Information Minister and Physician Chris Baryomunsi, after he claimed to have met, and advised Kizza to stop his hunger protest.
According to Besigye’s wife, he only sat after being forced out of his prison cell by Prison officers but uttered no word to the Minister.
“Kizza Besigye made it clear—he neither invited nor consented to seeing Baryomunsi. A prison officer forced him into the room. Baryomunsi lied about having a conversation—He remained completely silent in protest. Baryomunsi ranted, heard not a single word in response, and left.”
Kizza was arrested in Nairobi and taken to Uganda, where he was court martialled.
