Ugandan military extends detention of opposition leader Besigye
A Ugandan army court on Tuesday further remanded opposition leader Kizza Besigye to prison until next January.
Besigye’s defense team had requested a short adjournement but the court marial head sided with the state which demanded a long break.
Besigye is charged alongside his comrade Obeid Lutale Kamulegeya with endangering national security and subversion. The two were kidnapped by Ugandan intelligence from Kenya’s capital in November prompting outrage.
The pair will return to court for mention of their case on January 7, 2025.
Besigye’s attorneys have opposed his trial in the army tribunal and have refused to apply for bail before it. A doctor by profession, Besigye is a retired officer of the Ugandan army.
”You can see that this is a real kangaroo court,” said Erias Lukwago, one of Besigye’s lawyers- in a briefing to journalists after the adjournment.
”These are not proceedings of a competent court of law,” Lukwago added.
Ugandan law does not permit trying civilians in army courts.
But the Ugandan state has taken advantage of the delay by the country’s top to affirm a Constitutional Court ruling on the matter to continue trying President Yoweri Museveni’s opponents in the army court.
Besigye ran for president and controversially lost to Museveni four times.
