In a powerful and emotional statement on Monday, Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS and wife of opposition leader Dr. Kizza Besigye, accused President Yoweri Museveni of weaponizing Uganda’s judiciary to crush political dissent and cling to power.
Byanyima’s condemnation followed a Kampala court’s decision to deny bail to Dr. Besigye for a fourth time since his arrest over a year ago on charges related to protests against soaring commodity prices. The four-time presidential candidate remains in custody, a situation his supporters and international observers have long labeled as politically motivated.
“Mr. Museveni has turned this political matter into a criminal matter,” Byanyima stated. “What he wants is to destroy Dr. Kizza Besigye and have him locked away so that he (Museveni) can continue to run Uganda as a dictator.”
Her remarks represent a rare, direct, and high-profile international rebuke of the Museveni government’s treatment of its foremost political rival. Byanyima, a respected global figure in her own right, framed the legal proceedings not as a legitimate judicial process but as a deliberate strategy of neutralization.
“This is not about law and order; it is about fear and the silencing of opposition,” she continued. “Denying bail repeatedly to a man of his stature, on charges stemming from the basic act of protesting government policy, exposes the farce. It is the criminalization of politics itself.”
The arrest and prolonged detention of Dr. Besigye, a figure who has challenged President Museveni in every election since 2001, has been a focal point for criticism regarding Uganda’s democratic space. The government maintains that Besigye is facing legitimate legal charges of inciting violence and engaging in unlawful assemblies. Prosecutors have argued against bail, citing concerns he would continue to mobilize protests if released.
However, human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have repeatedly documented a pattern of arbitrary arrests, prolonged pre-trial detention, and politicized prosecutions against opposition members, activists, and journalists in Uganda.
Byanyima’s intervention amplifies these concerns onto a major global stage. “The world is watching,” she asserted. “Ugandans deserve a democracy where leaders are chosen at the ballot box, not where opponents are chosen for prison cells. This relentless persecution must end.”
As of now, there has been no immediate official response from the Ugandan government or the Office of the President to Byanyima’s allegations. Dr. Besigye’s legal team has indicated they will appeal the latest bail rejection, setting the stage for another chapter in a legal and political struggle that has defined Ugandan politics for decades.
