Ugandan opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, was transported in a car from Nairobi to Uganda following his alleged capture in Nairobi, his wife has revealed.
Offering a glimpse behind the capture that has trapped the country's attention for the last week, Winnie Byanyima, Besigye's wife, told the media that the husband was abducted by Ugandan security agents and was transported to Uganda by road. A journey that ordinarily takes over 13 hours.
Byanyima, who spoke after visiting the husband at Luzira Prison in Southeastern Kampala, revealed that Besigye and his counterpart, Obed Kamulegeya Lutale, were bundled into a small car after their capture.
In an interview with Reuters published on Monday, November 25, Byanyima said she learnt about the details while visiting Besigye in prison after the capture.
“He wasn’t tortured, but he was sat on all the way," she asserted.
She went on to narrate, "They packed him in a little car and sat on him (Besigye) and Obed. By the time he arrived in Kampala, he said he could hardly walk."
The new details put into perspective perceived failures of the country's intelligence, which has insisted it played no part in the capture of President Yoweri Museveni's long-time opponent.
On the day of the capture, it is said that Besigye, left his hotel room for Riverside Drive in a taxi to meet an acquaintance, Obed. Besigye was not seen again nor heard by his taxi driver, who had waited for him.
Byanyima disclosed that immediately after the capture, Besigye was forcibly bundled, tied up, and thrown into a car alongside his political ally, Obed Kamulegeya Lutale. The abductors then sat on them until they reached their destination in Kampala.
She mentioned that the abductors pretended to be Kenyans speaking Swahili before attacking the opposition leader and abducting him. During her visit, Besigye also confided that he overheard his abductors speaking a Ugandan language, which the Ugandan government has strongly denied.
Byanyima stated that the charges against Besigye are politically motivated and stem from a political witch hunt. Besigye has been a staunch critic of President Yoweri Museveni, running unsuccessfully against him in four elections.
“This is not just about Kizza Besigye and how the opposition can have its space, a healthy space, to play its role in a constitutional democracy,” she said.
On Friday, Uganda’s Minister of ICT and National Guidance, Chris Baryomunsi, alleged that the government of Kenya was complicit in the capture of the Besigye.
The revelation comes as NARC Kenya Party leader Martha Karua joined Besigye’s 50-member legal team as he faces trial at a military court on December 2.
