The News
Prominent Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye appeared before a Ugandan military court Wednesday, where he was charged with crimes including possession of an illegal firearm, four days after he appeared to go missing while in Kenya.
Besigye denied the charges, rejected government legal representation, and said that he should be tried in a civilian court because he isn’t a member of the armed forces.
Hours earlier, Besigye’s wife, who is an executive director of the United Nation’s AIDS/HIV program, wrote on X that the Ugandan government had “kidnapped” him, and demanded his release.
Besigye was once the personal doctor to now-President Yoweri Museveni in the 1980s, when the latter was a rebel leader.
However, Besigye later became critical of Museveni, has run against him in four elections, and has spoken out against Uganda’s draconian anti-gay laws. Museveni been known for arresting critics and opposition figures during his 38-year rule.