Muleya Mwananyanda

Personal statement: I wish to express my deep concern and profound frustration regarding the health, safety, and continued detention of my spouse, Dr Kizza Besigye, who has now been held in prison for over one year on trumped-up charges of treason. Dr Besigye is seriously ill and has been denied timely and adequate medical care. Last night, after a sharp deterioration in his condition, he was rushed to the clinic of his personal doctor, where he was treated and then returned to prison late at night. The prison authorities did not inform me of his worsening condition. I learned of it through other means and rushed to the clinic myself during the night. When I saw him, Dr Besigye was extremely weak, shaking, running a high temperature, and suffering from severe abdominal pain. At the clinic, Dr Besigye was guarded by six prison officers and a plainclothes military intelligence officer, a woman who concealed her face with a large white shawl. When he was discharged, Dr Besigye was marched to a basement car park and bundled into a prison pickup truck, squashed between two warders. When I approached the military officer to ask for her identity, she ran away. I managed to take a photograph of her as she fled. I am deeply concerned that Dr Besigye is now effectively in the hands of the army, rather than under civilian prison authority, and that his medical care is being deliberately restricted. I have been kept in the dark about his condition, warned not to inform the public about his illness, and threatened that if I did so, he would be denied further access to his doctor’s clinic. I regard this as blackmail and as a deliberate attempt to deny him medical care and conceal his condition from public knowledge. This morning, despite the clear facts, the prison spokesperson publicly stated that Dr Besigye is not ill. This is false. Following my interview this morning, and statements made by his political party, the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), the Commissioner of Prisons has now denied Dr Besigye access to a fully equipped medical facility, allowing only his personal doctor to see him at the prison sick bay—an ill-equipped facility where many prisoners have lost their lives. Dr Besigye has now been denied bail four times and kept on remand for over a year, as the government has fumbled to fabricate evidence to prosecute him. During this time, he has been held in solitary confinement, barred from speaking to other prisoners, denied the right to worship with other prisoners on Sundays, and prevented from engaging in basic physical activity such as playing football. He is confined to a tiny cell with little sunlight, sleeps on a small mattress infested with bedbugs, and is subjected to conditions that are cruel, degrading, and inhumane. Last week, during the elections, the prison was closed and the internet shut down countrywide. We were unable to visit him, and it is within this period of isolation and deprivation that Dr Besigye has fallen gravely ill. I therefore demand the immediate release of Dr Kizza Besigye, so that his family and doctors can care for him properly. He is innocent, and these dirty political games must stop. His continued detention, mistreatment, and denial of medical care place his life at grave risk, and those responsible will be held accountable. Winnie Byanyima Spouse of Dr Kizza Besigye 20 January 2026