Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of UNAIDS, visited Dr. Kizza Besigye at Luzira prison and demanded the release of political prisoners.
“I visited my lover @kizzabesigye1 in Luzira Prison in Murchison Bay. He appears healthy, and his morale is high, Byanyima wrote in a tweet on Wednesday.
“I inquired why he wasn’t at Upper Prison where he is a frequent visitor. They stated he has a lower charge — being a public nuisance,” she continued.
Winnie Byanyima outside the prison at Luzira
Besigye and Samuel Lubega Mukaku were detained in protest of the exorbitant cost of commodities and have been held without bail ever since.
Today, June 30, 2022, they will return to High Court to contest the denial of bail by Buganda Rd Court Grade One Magistrate, Asuman Muhumuza.
On the basis of a charge of inciting violence, bail was rejected.
Byanyima yelled, “#Freebesigye and other political prisoners,” perplexed as to why Besigye was being held for voicing his displeasure with price hikes while a senior army general had been voicing partisan opinions.
“I’m at a loss for words. It is acceptable for a senior military officer to express partisan opinions on the DR Congo, Ethiopia, Rwanda, etc. However, @kizzabesigye1 is imprisoned after airing his public grievances about the rising expense of living. Are we treated fairly by the law? Or, is there a legal system in place?” she tweeted.
“I want to know why a man who is protesting high gasoline and food costs and pushing for policies to aid the poor and jobless is in prison,” she continued. Is Uganda still considered to be a democracy?
Her partner’s pressure organization, Red Card Front, tweeted in response, saying: “Your partner’s perseverance is outstanding, his bravery and endurance unrivaled. They target him because they are aware that he never gives up.
political figures in the opposition
Leaders from the Jeema Party, including Charles Omaali, vice president for eastern affairs, Deric Namakajo, Shamim, head of the Red Card Front’s youth division, and Aggrey Osinde, a representative of Peoples Progress and front administrator, also paid visits to Besigye and Mukaku.
Red Card Front declared: “Jeema Party has been a founding dependable and formidable partner/entity of our Movement right from the outset.”
According to the pressure organization, activists were detained “just walking since they are unemployed and without earning” as they traveled by foot to Luzira to see their leaders Besigye and Mukaku.
Red Card Front alleged that “hungry Police” had eaten the watermelons and bananas that had been taken from them.
At Luzira, activists brought food for Besigye.
