Dear President Museveni,
I am writing to express great concern about the deteriorating health situation of Dr. Kizza Besigye, who has been arbitrarily detained for over 400 days in Luzira prison, Kampala.
Dr. Kizza Besigye was abducted in Nairobi, Kenya on 16 November 2024, forcefully returned to Uganda and despite being a civilian, arraigned at a military court in Kampala on 20 November 2024 on terrorism-related offences and illegal possession of weapons charges in the run up to the 2026 presidential elections.
I am further deeply concerned to learn that Dr. Kizza Besigye is gravely unwell, is currently not able to speak properly and needs urgent specialized medical care, which is being restricted by the Ugandan prison authorities. On 20 January 2026, he was rushed to his personal doctor’s clinic in Kampala after his health condition deteriorated. He appeared extremely weak, shaking, with high fever, and suffering from severe abdominal pain. Since then, prison authorities have continuously denied him access to a fully equipped medical facility, allowing only his personal doctor to see him at the prison sick bay which is an ill-equipped facility where many prisoners have lost their lives.
During his detention, Dr. Kizza Besigye has been held in solitary confinement, barred from speaking to other prisoners, denied the right to worship with other prisoners, and prevented from engaging in basic physical activities. He is confined to a tiny and extremely hot cell with little sunlight, sleeps on a small mattress infested with bedbugs, and is subjected to conditions that under international law are cruel, and degrading.
Dr. Kizza Besigye – who has been denied bail four times – is next due to appear in court on 24 February.
Considering the above, I urge your government to immediately release Dr Besigye and halt these legal proceedings against him due to the nature of his abduction and extradition which were in clear violation of both international human rights law and the process of extradition with its requisite fair trial protections. Pending that, I urge you to grant him access to specialized medical care under his personal doctor and under the watch of his family and ensure an independent, prompt, thorough, impartial and effective investigation is carried out into Dr Besigye’s abduction, bringing those suspected of responsibility to account in fair trials without recourse to the death penalty.
Lisätietoa
Dr. Kizza Besigye has spent over 400 days in detention and denied bail four times. He was first denied bail on 11 April 2025 after his case was committed to the High Court following an earlier involvement of the General Court Martial. On 29 December 2025, the High Court in Kampala denied him bail for the fourth time together with his co-accused, Hajji Obeid Lutale, after ruling that their application for a stay of criminal proceedings and release from custody lacked merit.
Amnesty International’s research revealed that ahead of the elections on 15 January 2026, Ugandan authorities launched a brutal campaign of repression against the opposition and its supporters as well as government critics, making it extremely difficult for them to exercise their rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly. The crackdown resulted in over 400 arbitrary arrests since September 2025 of opposition supporters, perceived opposition supporters and other government critics. Some of those arrested have also been subjected to torture and other ill-treatment.