Winnie Byanyima, wife of detained Ugandan opposition figure Kizza Besigye, expressed doubt about a fair trial for her husband.
Byanyima, who also leads UNAIDS, said Besigye was abducted in Nairobi on November 16 while preparing for a book launch.
Amnesty International and a Kenyan foreign ministry official have called the incident an abduction, though Uganda’s government denies carrying out such acts.
“In the military court, we do not expect to get justice,” Byanyima told Reuters in Kampala on Saturday, decrying the charges as politically driven.
Besigye faces allegations of possessing weapons and other offenses, charges critics say aim to silence dissent under President Yoweri Museveni.
Ugandan military spokesperson Felix Kulayigye dismissed Byanyima’s claims, insisting the military court operates within the law.
“We have confidence in the court. It dispenses justice effectively and judiciously,” Kulayigye said, defending the legal process.
Besigye, once Museveni’s ally and personal physician, became a staunch critic and contested him in four elections, rejecting the outcomes as fraudulent.
Byanyima urged Western nations, including the U.S. and Britain, to condemn Uganda for targeting opposition figures abroad.
“They should speak out against a government abducting an opposition leader from another country. That should be condemned,” she said.
Besigye told Byanyima his captors spoke a Ugandan language, leading him to believe they were from Uganda.
