Uganda's Prisons boss: Why we're still holding Besigye

The court ordered that the cases currently before the military court be transferred to the civilian courts.

Dr Besigye, Obeid Lutaale and Captain Denis Oola are charged with five offences, including treachery and illegal possession of firearms and ammunition. The prosecution said that between February 2023 and November 2024, the three held meetings in Geneva, Athens, Nairobi and Uganda to hatch plans to compromise the security of Uganda.

Francis Mwijukye, a member of Besigye's new party, the People's Front for Freedom (PFF), who is also the MP for Buhweju in western Uganda, told Parliament that the four-time presidential candidate had begun a hunger strike. He said Besigye had refused food and visitors, including his wife, for three days.

According to Mr Mwijukye, Besigye's hunger strike is a protest against his illegal detention in Luzira Prison. He said the politician had refused to eat food delivered by his usual provider, a woman called Stellah, and refused to speak to her.

“He has refused food and visitors, and he has said he is unwell,” Mr Mwijukye said.

Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, posted on X (former Twitter) on Tuesday that her husband was on hunger strike.

“Kizza Besigye is on hunger strike, detained illegally by a regime that fears his defiance more than it respects the law. This is not just an attack on him—it is an attack on every Ugandan who dares to demand justice. They think they can break his spirit, but they underestimate his resolve. He will not yield while the regime tramples on justice. His fight is my fight. I will stand with him,” her post read.

Read: Besigye woes: He had it coming, so it was a matter of when

On Tuesday, Besigye was due to appear in court on another case that has been pending since 2022, but failed to show up, sending a handwritten note through prisons authorities saying he was unwell.

But Prisons spokesman Frank Baine insisted that Besigye was fine.

However, MP Mwijukye said Prisons officials could not be trusted.

“If Besigye has said he is not well, how can someone else say he is well?” he asked.

Dr Johnson Byabashaija, Prisons Commissioner-General, told The EastAfrican that he was not aware that Besigye had missed any meal, adding that he would not expect a prisoner to go on hunger strike.

“An inmate on hunger strike?! Let him be. That’s his choice. I am yet to see him miss a meal though,” he said.

Commenting on Besigye's confinement a few weeks ago, the Prisons Services chief said it was necessary to prevent him from inciting fellow inmates.

Dr Byabashaija was meeting with Parliament's Human Rights Committee, which was investigating concerns about Besigye's welfare after media reports that authorities had restricted his access to food, legal counsel and family visits.

“Previously, whenever we had Dr Besigye in custody, he would engage with us freely. But not this time,” Dr Byabashaija said. “I spoke with a close relative who expressed fears for his life, and I decided to tighten security measures around him. I changed the security protocols for his safety.”

He said Besigye's movements were restricted because of security concerns, adding that staff at Luzira Upper Prison were outnumbered by inmates.

“If inmates were to organise an incident, it could be catastrophic. We cannot allow anything that could excite them, and Dr Besigye can do so,” he added.

Besigye had expressed fears that he might be poisoned, the reason he refused to eat prison food even when the prison authorities insisted he eat. He was later allowed to receive food from outside.

Speaking to The EastAfrican on Wednesday morning, Dr Byabashaija said Besigye had been to Luzira four times and should not be worried.

“He has been with us a total of four times. He knows us,” he said.

Asked why he had not been released despite the Supreme Court order almost two weeks ago, Dr Byabashaija said: “The Supreme Court directed the files to be transferred to civil courts. That’s the process going on. I submitted last Friday to the Attorney-General and I have not received any release order.”

Deputy Attorney-General Jackson Kafuzi told Parliament that the process of transferring the files was underway and urged those affected to remain patient.

But Mr Mwijukye told The EastAfrican that the Attorney-General did not need to be involved.

“The Attorney-General is the one who appealed to the Supreme Court over the trial of civilians in the court martial, and he lost the case. How can he then be the one to determine whether Besigye is released or not?”

MP Mwijukye's closeness to Besigye dates back to the early and mid-2000s when the retired colonel challenged President Yoweri Museveni, resulting in numerous arrests and detentions.

The lawmaker said the Prisons Service receives prisoners from the court, not the Attorney-General, and in this case, the court martial's detention order expired on February 3, when Besigye was supposed to be produced before the court martial. By then, the Supreme Court had already ruled against it.

“The worst illegal thing they should have done in this case is to release, re-arrest him and take him to the police, charge him and take him to prison on fresh charges,” he said, adding: “We shall do everything possible to ensure we expose the government’s nakedness in this impunity since we cannot break the walls of Luzira and pick him.”

MP Mwijukye said their hands were tied and they hoped Besigye would get justice and be released from prison.

Following the Supreme Court ruling, President Yoweri Museveni said that he was not happy with the decision and told the judges that Uganda is not run by judges. He said military courts were good for the country's security and ordered the Attorney-General to propose constitutional amendments to prevent judges from interfering with the work of military courts.

“The country is not governed by the judges. It is governed by the People – all of us Ugandans who are old enough to vote. The military courts helped us to discipline Karamoja. We cannot and will not abandon this useful instrument for stability. Civilian magistrates were even fearing to go to Karamoja,” the President said.

His son, General Muhoozi Kainerugaba, who is also the Chief of Defence Forces – the highest position in the Ugandan military – echoed his father's opposition to the Supreme Court ruling.

Speaking at a ceremony marking 44 years since the army was formed in 1981 at the start of Museveni's rebellion against the government of former president Milton Obote, Gen Muhoozi said the judges were posing a serious threat to national security and described the ruling as "unfortunate and unacceptable".

“This development is very unfortunate and quite unacceptable. It could lead to a national security crisis, threatening effective command, control, and administration of the defence forces,” he said while addressing the army and civilians in Kyotera, about 150km south of Uganda's capital Kampala.