Besigye remanded after seizure from Nairobi

Leading Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye appeared in a military court in Kampala yesterday after his reported kidnapping in Nairobi, his lawyer said.



Besigye, 68, was taken to the General Court Martial in handcuffs and under heavy military escort.



“Besigye has objected to his trial before the General Court Martial and informed the court chairman that he is a civilian who should not be tried in a military court,” his lawyer Erias Lukwago said.



The hearing was briefly adjourned after Besigye told the court he did not have legal representation as he had been held incommunicado.



“As his lawyers, we stepped in to protect his rights but he had not given us a briefing for this particular case and we don’t know the charges he is facing at the moment.”



Besigye’s wife Winnie Byanyima, who is head of the United Nations Programme on HIV and Aids, said her husband was kidnapped on Saturday while in Nairobi for a book launch by Kenyan opposition politician Martha Karua.



Besigye was charged alongside Hajj Obed Lutale.



He was remanded after being charged with offences relating to security, illegal possession of two pistols and illegal possession of eight rounds of ammunition.



According to the charge sheet, the two committed the offences in Nairobi (Kenya), Athens (Greece) and Geneva (Switzerland) to cause insecurity in Uganda.The prosecution alleges that between October 2023 and November 2024, the two, together with others who are yet to be arrested, held meetings in the three capitals to solicit for resources to cause insecurity in Uganda.



Speaking for the first time in court, Besigye said he had been in complete isolation since abduction. “I was only informed that I was coming to court a few minutes ago,” he said.