A prominent Ugandan opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, appeared in a military court on Wednesday, several days after his disappearance, and pleaded not guilty to charges of seeking foreign military support to destabilize Uganda’s armed forces.
Besigye, a long-standing critic of President Museveni and his former personal physician, has a history of arrests and alleged assaults. He’s unsuccessfully contested four presidential elections.
Initially appearing in court without legal counsel and confined to a cage, Besigye rejected government-appointed lawyers, demanding a civilian trial due to his non-military status.
The former president of the opposition Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party also denied a separate charge of illegal firearm possession. He will remain in custody until December 2nd, alongside fellow FDC member Hajj Lutale Kamulegeya, who also faces charges and denies any wrongdoing.
Besigye’s reappearance followed four days of reported absence after vanishing in Nairobi. His wife, Winnie Byanyima, UNAIDS executive director, alleged his abduction and imprisonment in a Ugandan military facility on Saturday.
The Ugandan government has yet to issue a statement.
Kenya’s foreign affairs permanent secretary, Korir Singoei, informed local media that Kenya was uninvolved in the alleged incident.
Besigye’s lawyer, Kampala mayor and FDC member Erias Lukwago, voiced concerns about his client’s arrest on foreign soil.
“The curtailment of his liberty in a sovereign nation like Kenya, without Kenyan governmental action against the sister country for violating Kenya’s territorial integrity, is a grave matter we won’t ignore,” he stated.
Museveni, who has governed Uganda since 1986, faces persistent criticism from human rights groups over alleged abuses against opposition figures.