Anyone challenging Uganda’s longtime leader faces the full force of the state, the wife of jailed opposition veteran Kizza Besigye warned Saturday.
Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Geneva-based UNAIDS, urged authorities to release her critically ill husband so he can receive urgent medical treatment.
Besigye, 70, faces treason charges over an alleged plot against President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled Uganda since 1986.
“You challenge President Museveni and the whole might of the state will be turned against you,” Byanyima said at her home near Kampala.
She pointed to singer-turned-politician Bobi Wine, who challenged Museveni before fleeing into exile, as evidence that peaceful opposition remains difficult in Uganda.
International rights groups have raised concerns over worsening democratic freedoms following Museveni’s heavily disputed election victory earlier this year.
A former personal physician to Museveni, Besigye has faced repeated state pressure since entering opposition politics more than two decades ago.
Authorities returned him to Uganda in 2024 after he was abducted in neighboring Kenya, where he was later charged before military and civilian courts.
The veteran politician recently collapsed and was admitted to intensive care, but authorities returned him to prison despite medical advice.
Byanyima urged officials to grant him bail, allowing his family to take him to their home in Geneva for specialized treatment.
“When he has recovered, he will return here to face the court,” she said, expressing confidence that he would ultimately be cleared.
Ugandan authorities have continued to tighten restrictions on dissidents, defense lawyers and independent media across the East African country.