By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Nearly three months after his detention, Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye has begun a hunger strike as he still awaits trial in connection with the alleged illegal possession of a firearm.
Besigye, 68, was charged before a military court for also allegedly attempting to purchase weapons abroad—accusations he has denied.
“We believe he is protesting because he should not still be in prison—he should be home,” an official of Besigye’s political movement, the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), told the BBC on Tuesday.
The opposition politician was expected to appear before a civilian court on Tuesday for a hearing on a 2022 case in which he is accused of holding an unlawful demonstration. However, he did not attend the hearing, citing health reasons.
Besigye, whose trial was initially postponed until January, was a personal doctor to Uganda’s longtime President, Yoweri Museveni, before both fell apart, and he went on to become an opposition leader.
He has contested and lost four presidential elections against Museveni, who has been in power since 1986. The veteran opposition figure has previously accused the Ugandan authorities of political persecution.
He has been less active in politics in recent years and did not contest the 2021 election.
However, Besigye returned to the headlines in November after he was dramatically abducted while visiting Kenya and forcibly taken to Uganda.
In a landmark ruling last month, Uganda’s Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional for military courts to try civilians, ordering the transfer of all such cases to civilian courts.
This, however, did not go down well with President Museveni, who dismissed it as “a wrong decision” and vowed to challenge the ruling.
In defence of the use of military courts to try civilians, Museveni said any crime involving a gun is better dealt with in a military court to ensure the country’s stability, claiming that civilian courts took too long to handle cases.
Opposition parties have accused the authorities of clamping down on political activities, alleging that Museveni fears political competition.
Museveni’s supporters deny the allegation and say he has maintained stability during his rule of almost 40 years.
