Prisons Refutes Claims of Besigye Hunger Strike

Prisons spokesperson Frank Baine says claims by Besigye associates are politically motivated and that the jailed opposition stalwart is having his meals normally

The Uganda Prisons Service has dismissed claims that opposition stalwart Kizza Besigye is on hunger strike while in detention at Luzira Prison.

Prisons spokesperson Frank Baine said Dr Besigye has been consuming his meals regularly.

Besigye, four-time presidential candidate, was remanded by the General Court Martial last year on charges of treachery—an offense that carries the maximum penalty of death—and illegal possession of firearms.

He is also accused of soliciting support for activities deemed a threat to national security.

Reports from his close associates, including his wife Winnie Byanyima, suggested that he had refused to eat, signaling a possible hunger strike.

"Kizza Besigye is on hunger strike," Byanyima posted on her X account.

This week, Parliament was also informed that Besigye had refused to eat while in custody.

Additionally, he skipped his scheduled trial on a separate charge at Buganda Road Court, with Prisons instead delivering a handwritten letter allegedly from him.

The letter stated that he would not honor the trial, citing his continued illegal detention.

However, Baine, speaking to Nile Post, refuted the allegations of a hunger strike, asserting that Besigye has been consuming his meals regularly.

“To the best of my knowledge, Dr. Kizza Besigye has had all his meals in the past. If he has started a hunger strike, that would be today after the instigation of maybe his lawyers who visited him yesterday (February 12),” Baine stated.

He further clarified that Besigye receives food from trusted individuals, ensuring he has control over its preparation and access.

"Uganda Prisons Service right now has 79,390 prisoners, and they are all entitled to food, shelter, and health. They are also supposed to access justice, and Rtd. Col. Kizza Besigye is one of them," he said.

Baine described the reports as politically motivated attempts to tarnish the reputation of the Uganda Prisons Service.

"Prisons cannot deny anyone food or access to it. Such claims are political moves meant to taint the image of the institution," he said.

Besigye’s lawyer, Erias Lukwago, acknowledged that his client had considered going on hunger strike but attributed it to his frustration with what he called unlawful detention.

"He had contemplated going on hunger strike out of frustration and disgust with the impunity going on because right now he's in illegal detention," Lukwago said.

Besigye remains detained despite a ruling by the Supreme Court outlawing the trial of civilians in military courts and ordering the release of all such suspects.

The government has refused to comply with the decision of the highest court in the land, continuing to hold civilians like Besigye under military jurisdiction.

Meanwhile, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the first son and chief of defence forces, sparked outrage on Thursday morning with a post on X appearing to celebrate Besigye’s reported hunger strike.

"I hear KB (Kizza Besigye) is on hunger strike. Can he speed up the hunger strike so that he ends it? Uganda will be much better off without his stain," Muhoozi wrote.

Muhoozi, who previously ignited public outcry by suggesting Besigye would be executed on Heroes Day, June 9, doubled down on his rhetoric, branding Besigye a "traitor."

"KB is a traitor, who never saved anybody in the bush. Nobody! All he has done was plot to kill my family since day one! He is going to pay for it," he posted.

Dr Besigye was a personal doctor of Muhozi's father during the five-year guerilla warfare that brought his government to power in 1986.

He is widely credited with saving the lives of several combatants including Muhoozi's uncle Gen Salim Saleh and former army commander Naj Gen Mugisha Muntu, the latter having taken a barrage of bullets to the body.

Muhoozi has also recently stated that Besigye would only leave Luzira prison "in a coffin or on his knees"—the latter by apologising to his father, President Museveni.