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The wife of jailed Ugandan dissident Kizza Besigye has criticized it as “cruel and cruel” to ban prisoners from receiving visitors on Christmas Day.
Besigye, who is 68, is facing charges in a military court for possessing guns and trying to buy weapons abroad, which he has denied. His trial has been postponed until next month.
The prison authorities say that as part of the preventive measures “possible security”, iguests are not allowed to spit for seven days, starting from Christmas.
Besigye’s wife Winnie Byanyima who is the head of the UN organization to combat HIV and AIDS has said that she wants to set up a camp outside Luzira prison to see her husband and give him food on Christmas day.
She told the BBC that her husband remains “strong and persistent” in a “small cell” behind six prison gates, but she is worried he will be “harmed”.
“I am not leaving Besigye’s food at the gate [as directed]. I will go there and see my husband because I don’t trust him even for a day,” said Miss Byanyima.
“Maybe I’ll take a tent and sleep there… if that’s what they want,” he added.
Besigye contested and lost four elections to President Yoweri Museveni who has ruled since 1986.
But the former opposition politician has not been involved in politics in recent years, and did not contest the 2021 elections.
Besigye, too, returned to the headlines last month after he was mysteriously kidnapped while in Kenya and taken to Uganda.
He was later charged with an accomplice, Obeid Lutale. He has also denied the charges.
A military court extended Besigye’s detention until January 7, dashing his family’s hope that he would be home by Christmas.
Uganda Prisons Services spokesperson Frank Baine Mayanja told local media that the seven-day ban on visitors is aimed at tightening security during the festive season, and preventing escapes.
“Christmas brings joy and many inmates don’t want to spend Christmas inside. They should be planning how to break prison and get out,” Mayanja told NTV Uganda.
Prison officials initially announced a one-month ban on prison visits, but later reduced the ban to seven days.
Ms Byanyima told the BBC she was also concerned about the change in management at Luzira prison, questioning why a “young and inexperienced” officer was put in charge.
“It’s very suspicious and makes me question their intentions,” he said.
“I don’t believe her [Besigye’s] life and those who caught him. I will try to see him as often as possible,” Byanyima added.
Mr Mayanja says the change in leadership is a matter of management and has nothing to do with Besigye.
He added that Mrs. Byanyima should trust the authorities to take care of her husband because “we have ways and means to save him”.
I think they should let us do our work,” said Mr Mayanja.
This is the second time Besigye, who has been running against Museveni’s government for the past two decades, is serving time in prison during the Christmas holidays.
In 2005, he was arrested while returning from a political rally before the 2006 elections and charged with treason. The case was struck down by the courts.
He was also charged with rape in another case. The charges were later dismissed. He said that everything that has been said is a campaign to harass people in politics
In a recent case, Besigye has opposed the military court to try his case saying that if he is guilty he should be tried in a civilian court.
Museveni it has protected that military courts try civilians.
He said that every case involving firearms is tried in a military court to ensure that the country runs smoothly because civilian courts take a long time to deal with cases.
Hundreds of civilians have been tried in military courts in Uganda, even though the Constitutional Court has ruled against this practice.
Opposition parties have often complained about political restrictions saying that Museveni is afraid of political competition.
Museveni’s supporters dispute the claims, and say he has been entrenched in his nearly 40-year rule.
