Uganda Prisons respond to Byanyima report on Besigye's condition

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The Uganda Prisons Service has responded to Winnie Byanyima’s allegations, in which she said that her husband, Rtd. Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye, who is on remand at Luzira Upper Maximum-Security Prison, was being subjected to inhumane treatment.

In a press release issued on Friday, June 20, 2025, Prisons Spokesperson, Frank Baine Mayanja, labelled the allegations as “grossly false” and contradictory.

“The claim that the facility is infested with bed bugs used as a torture tool against him is grossly false. Also, the assertion that he shares a ward with 15 others and yet in permanent isolation is contradictory,” Baine stated.

Baine’s statement comes in the wake of statements by Byanyima on Thursday at meeting with journalists whom she invited at her home in Kasangati near Kampala.

At the press conference on Thursday, Byanyima, the Executive Director of UNAIDS, stated that Col. Besigye’s condition at Luzira Maximum Prison where he is detained on terrorism charges is worrying and the judiciary should grant him bail.

 Byanyima also said that the rights of her 69-year-old husband had been violated in prison, adding that he is in solitary confinement and restricted from interacting with other prisoners.

“In the prison where he is, he is locked up in a tiny cell with a little ventilation and doesn’t bring in little light. He is only allowed a little space and its concrete. That is the small space where they eat from, cook together with the 15 other prisoners who are suspected to be Allied Democratic Front terrorists and they have been there for close to 10 years and have never been in court.

He cannot go to other spaces where the other prisoners are, like when they are going to pray. Even on Christmas day, he couldn’t join the other prisoners to pray. Anywhere he has to go, he is accompanied by two guards. The two guards have to make sure that Dr. Besigye doesn’t speak to any other prisoner,” Byanyima added.

Dr. Kizza Besigye was arrested in Nairobi on November 16, 2024, where he had gone to attend an event organised by Kenya’s Martha Karua, alongside Obeid Lutale and charged before General Court Martial with treason related offences.

However, his case was transferred to the civilian Court after the Supreme Court ruled that the General Court Martial and other military courts lack the jurisdiction to try civilians.

Byanyima said Besigye had applied for bail but has been deliberately denied freedom even after clocking the mandatory remand period.

“Bail is a right. He has been in jail for more than 180 days and the courts are playing games and will not give it to him. Every rule in the book seems to be broken when it comes to Dr. Besigye,” she stated.

Byanyima also revealed that her husband's detention had taken a toll on her saying, “I am a human being. I get upset, I get angry and that spills over to my work. I cannot deny that but I will do my best.”

For details about Byanyima's press conference visit https://epapers.visiongroup.co.ug/