By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Hundreds of supporters of detained Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye on Monday converged at a Catholic cathedral to demand his release after more than a year without trial on treason charges, despite the government order to postpone the meeting.
The event was the first of its kind in demonstration of solidarity with Besigye, whose health has been deteriorating. At a point, he appeared in court in a wheelchair.
He has been repeatedly denied bail, even as many Ugandans plea for mercy. His trial is yet to formally start.
The archbishop of Kampala, Paul Ssemogerere, had been expected to preside over the prayer meeting but supporters were told the event had been postponed.
The chancellor of the archdiocese, Pius Male, told The Associated Press the archbishop sought a postponement “because there were issues which were still being discussed so that may have harmony.” Details were not given on what the issues were.
Instead of heading home, attendees at the Lubaga Cathedral sang hymns and prayed, led by Winnie Byanyima, the UNAIDS director who married Besigye in the church years ago.
Byanyima told the crowd that the archbishop had informed her of President Yoweri Museveni’s request to postpone the event pending an investigation into whether it was political.
“So we are here and unable to have the Mass that we wanted because of the order of our President,” she said. “I would like that we still pray because we came to pray.”
Uganda’s President has said Besigye must answer for “the very serious offenses he is alleged to have been planning,” and has called for “a quick trial so that facts come out.”
Besigye, once Uganda’s most prominent opposition figure and four-time presidential candidate, is accused of plotting to remove Museveni by force.
Besigye went missing in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi in November 2024. Days later, he was presented before a military court in Kampala to face charges related to threatening national security.
The case later was transferred to civilian court and amended as treason, which carries the death penalty.
Museveni’s son, Gen. Muhoozi Kainerugaba, has alleged that Besigye plotted to kill his father. Kainerugaba, Uganda’s military chief, last week called Besigye “a dead man walking.”
Besigye once was a trusted ally of Museveni in the guerrilla war that propelled the president to power in 1986, and served as Museveni’s personal doctor and military assistant.
