The government of Uganda has broken its silence over the abduction of Kizza Besigye in Nairobi maintaining it does not have any information regarding the opposition leader's disappearance.
In an interview with Daily Monitor, a Uganda media outlet, Uganda’s Minister of ICT and National Guidance Chris Baryomunsi revealed that he was not acquainted with the abduction and that the state was in the process of establishing his whereabouts.
“I am currently in Soroti as part of President Museveni’s entourage. I am not aware that he is being held by the government. I’m still cross-checking with our security agencies. In any case, why would he be arrested?” Baryomunsi wondered.
However, it has emerged that the missing opposition leader will be charged on Wednesday at a military court martial in Kampala at 11 am, according to reliable reports from Besigye’s allies.
The disappearance has attracted criticism from politicians in both Kenya and Uganda, the latest being activist Bobi Wine, formally Robert Kyagulanyi, who condemned the abduction terming it a breach of extradition laws.
The popular activist divulged that a few months earlier, 36 other activists were abducted from Nairobi and repatriated to Uganda. Wine noted that the worrying trend of abductions of Ugandan citizens in Kenya is of greatest concern
The Ugandan government nonetheless refuted any wrong insisting that it sticks to extradition laws. “The government is not in the habit of arresting citizens and keeping them incommunicado forever. If he (Besigye) is arrested he will be arraigned in court and charged accordingly,” Baryomunsi said.
“However, we are still cross-checking with our security agencies and colleagues in Kenya because we are told he had travelled there for a book launch before he disappeared,” he added.
According to Besigye's wife Winnie Byanyima, the politician went missing while in Nairobi to attend the launch of Martha Karua's memoir, Against The Tide, on Saturday, November 16.
Taking to social media, Besigye's wife appealed to the Ugandan Government to release her husband immediately.
She also revealed that she had reliable reports that her husband is currently being held at a military jail in Uganda's capital, Kampala.
Karua also demanded Besigye's release and called out Uganda's President Kaguta Museveni and his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto to 'come clean on his safety and whereabouts.' Besigye was scheduled to attend Karua's book launch in Nairobi before his disappearance.
