Missing opposition doyen Dr Kizza Besigye will appear before the army court today according to the Uganda People’s Defence Forces (UPDF) spokesperson Brig Felix Kulaigye.  

“Go to Makindye Court Martial today at 11 am; you will find the answer you need,” said Kulaigye, when contacted about Besigye’s whereabouts. 

Besigye was abducted from Nairobi, Kenya, last week and forcibly returned to Uganda. According to reliable sources, who spoke to URN under anonymity due to the matter's sensitivity, Besigye is currently being held at Makindye military barracks in Kampala, since Sunday. 

This has been corroborated by his wife, Winnie Byanyima, who took to X (formerly Twitter) to demand his release from military custody, stating that he is not a soldier.

“I request the government of Uganda to release my husband, Dr. Kizza Besigye, from where he is being held immediately. He was kidnapped last Saturday while he was in Nairobi for Hon. Martha Karua’s book launch. I am now reliably informed that he is in a military jail in Kampala. We, his family and his lawyers, demand to see him. He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?” Byanyima's post read. 

On Tuesday night, URN broke the story that Besigye had gone missing after close friends and relatives lost contact with him. According to multiple sources, Besigye was last seen on Saturday in Uganda when he left his home in Kasangati, Wakiso district, to check on a patient at a hospital in Kampala. Later that day, he travelled to Nairobi for what was confirmed to be attendance at Martha Karua’s book launch. 

Another source revealed that they lost contact with Besigye and his travel companion shortly after he indicated his arrival in Kenya. 

“He sent us a message saying that he had arrived, but we haven’t heard from him since. His phone and that of the person he travelled with are off,” the source said. By URN / The Observer