Besigye out of solitary cell

Nov 20, 2005

Forum for Democratic Change president Dr. Kizza Besigye has been transferred from his secluded detention in room 63 of Luzira maximum prison to the western wing to join his brother Joseph Musasizi Kifefe.

By Hillary Kiirya and Patrick Jaramogi
Forum for Democratic Change president Dr. Kizza Besigye has been transferred from his secluded detention in room 63 of Luzira maximum prison to the western wing to join his brother Joseph Musasizi Kifefe.
The 21 PRA suspects who were charged along with Besigye, have also been transferred from the eastern to the western wing, a move the commissioner of prisons, Dr. John Byabashaija, said was aimed at decongesting the over-crowded prison.

In an interview with the New Vision yesterday, Byabashaija said they would do everything to ensure that Besigye is safe while in Luzira prison.

“We shall do everything possible to protect and ensure Besigye is safe while at Luzira. “What I will not allow is food from outside. We want to ensure that he is safe. How do I know that the food being brought for him is safe? I don’t have gadgets and don’t want to go through the pain of checking whether the food is safe. Not all his friends may like him.”

He said just like other inmates in Luzira Upper Prison, Besigye had access to newspapers, radio and a television set.

“I would even want him and others to have phones so that they can alert us in case of any problem but we still lack the gadgets to monitor the calls. If we get these gadgets, we shall allow them phones since we shall be able to monitor their calls,” he said. A source said Besigye’s transfer was aimed at getting him acquainted with the prison conditions.

“Musasizi has been in Luzira for some time and is used to the conditions of the prison and since among all the other suspect, he is the only one who can get on well with the Colonel, I think that is why they decided to have them in one cell,” the source said. He said he was transferred on Wednesday, a day after Musasizi and 13 others were granted bail by the High Court but sent back to prison because their sureties refused to sign their bond papers for fear that the suspects would be re-arrested as was the case before.

Besigye was last week arrested at Busega near Kampala as he returned from a campaign tour of northern and western Uganda.

He was subsequently charged at the Buganda Road Court with rape, treason and concealment of treason.

Besigye was allegedly involved in the activities of the People’s Redemption Army rebels alongside 22 others.

Through his lawyers, Besigye applied to court on Tuesday to be allowed to get food from home.

But by yesterday, his request had not been granted, one of his lawyers, Sam Njuba, said.
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