The wife of detained Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye has labeled the ban on prisoners receiving visitors on Christmas Day as “cruel and inhumane”.
Besigye, 68, has been charged by a military court with possessing pistols and trying to buy weapons abroad, charges he denies. His trial has been postponed until next month.
Prison authorities say that as part of measures to prevent “possible security deficiencies”, inmates will not be allowed to receive visitors for seven days, starting on Christmas Eve.
Besigye’s wife Winnie Byanyima, head of the UN agency to combat HIV and AIDS, said she planned to camp outside Luzira prison so she could see her husband and feed him on Christmas Day.
She told the BBC that her husband remains “strong and persistent” in a “tiny room” behind six prison gates, but she feared he could be “hurt”.
“I will not leave Besigye’s food at the gate [as directed]. I will go there and visit my husband because I don’t trust them to him even for a day,” Mrs Byanyima said.
“Maybe I’ll take a tent and sleep there… if that’s what they want,” she added.
Besigye has contested and lost four presidential elections against President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986.
But the veteran opposition politician has been less active in politics in recent years and did not participate in the 2021 elections.
However, Besigye returned to the news last month after he was dramatically kidnapped during a visit to Kenya and forcibly taken to Uganda.
He was subsequently charged along with an assistant, Obeid Lutale. He has also denied the allegations.
The military court extended Besigye’s detention until January 7, dashing his family’s hopes that he would be home for Christmas.
Uganda Prison Services spokesperson Frank Baine Mayanja told local media that the seven-day ban on visitors was aimed at tightening security during the festive season and preventing escapes.
“Christmas creates excitement and the majority of prisoners do not want to celebrate Christmas indoors. They have to plan how to escape from prison and go outside,” Mayanja told NTV Uganda.
The Prison Service initially imposed a ban on prison visits for almost a month, but then reduced it to seven days.
Ms Byanyima told the BBC she was also concerned about the recent change of leadership at Luzira Prison, wondering why a “young and inexperienced” official had been put in charge.
“It is very suspicious and makes me question their intentions,” she said.
‘I don’t trust his [Besigye’s] living with those who kidnapped him. I will try to see him as often as possible,” Ms Byanyima added.
Mr Mayanja said the leadership changes were an “administrative matter” and had nothing to do with Besigye..
He added that Mrs. Byanyima should trust that authorities will take care of her husband because “we have the means and mechanism to keep him alive.”
“I think she should let us do our job,” Mayanja said.
This is the second time Besigye, who has clashed with Museveni’s government over the past two decades, has spent the Christmas holidays in jail.
In 2005, he was arrested while returning from a political rally ahead of the 2006 presidential elections and charged with treason. The charge was dismissed by the court.
He was also accused of rape in another case. The charges were later dropped. He said all the allegations were part of a campaign of political persecution
In the latest case, Besigye has objected to being tried by a military court, saying he should be tried in a civilian court if there were a case against him.
Museveni has defended the use of military courts to try civilians.
He said any crime involving a firearm was dealt with by a military court to ensure the stability of the country as civilian courts took too long to hear cases.
Hundreds of civilians have been tried in Uganda’s military courts, even though the Constitutional Court has ruled against the practice.
Opposition parties have often complained about restrictions on political activities, claiming Museveni fears political competition.
Museveni’s supporters deny the allegations and say he has maintained stability during his nearly 40-year rule.
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