By Winnie Kizza
It is now one year since my spouse, Dr. Kizza Besigye, was abducted from Nairobi and taken to prison in Uganda. One year later, the case against him has not moved in court. The injustice has been endless: military detention, illegal confinement, and denial of bail. A justice system fully captured.
Why is he being held? Because he holds different views. Because he dared to compete for the presidency. Because in Uganda, dissent is treated as a crime, and those who challenge authoritarian rule are punished rather than heard.
What is happening to Kizza Besigye is not unique. It is the fate of countless Ugandans, especially young activists, who disappear, are detained without charge, tortured, or even killed. Our nation’s future is being brutalised into silence.
Allow me to remind you who Kizza Besigye is. He is a national hero who survived illegal detention under the Obote II regime at the notorious Nile Hotel basement. He fled into exile, but when Uganda needed him, he returned to join the struggle for freedom.
He left his medical job at Aga Khan Hospital in Nairobi, joined Museveni in the bush war, and served with courage. As one of only two doctors in the NRA, he fought in all major battles and saved countless lives, including serving as Museveni’s personal doctor.
After the war, he helped build the NRM as National Political Commissar, shaping structures across the country. As a member of the NRC and the Constituent Assembly, he consistently spoke his truth grounded in the NRM’s original vision of democracy, human rights, and social justice.
His disagreement with Museveni began when that vision was betrayed when personal rule replaced national transformation. In 2001, after a violent and fraudulent election in which his victory was stolen, Kizza Besigye broke with the NRM.
Since then, he has endured arrests, torture, smear campaigns, and criminalisation. In November 2005 twenty years ago—he was charged with treason, terrorism, illegal possession of weapons, and even rape. All false accusations. He faced trial and was exonerated.
Through it all, KB has never wavered. His commitment to the fight for democracy, human rights, and equality has never been shaken. No amount of imprisonment or persecution can make him abandon the struggle for a free Uganda.
The writer is Executive Director of UNAIDS and a wife to Dr. Kizza Besigye.
