Mubarak Munyagwa, the leader of the Common Man’s Party, met Gen Salim Saleh at least twice at Kapeeka in October, multiple sources have told Bbeg Media.
The meetings come as Saleh leads efforts to find a political way out of the treason case against the jailed opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye.
While we were unable to get the details of what transpired in the meetings, we understand that one of the issues discussed was how to soften Besigye so that he accepts dialogue with Gen Saleh.
“The meetings were long. I think he [Munyagwa] also discussed some personal issues with afande,” said one of the sources.
We have been told that after meeting Saleh, Munyagwa was granted permission to visit Besigye at the Joint Clinical Research Centre (JCRC) in Lubowa, where he is receiving treatment.
It is now believed that the aim of visiting Besigye was to convince him to accept talks with Saleh.
For many years, Munyagwa and Besigye worked closely together in the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC).
However, ahead of the 2026 elections, Munyagwa broke away from the FDC and launched the Common Man’s Party. He later distanced himself from his former FDC colleagues, saying their political direction no longer matched his.
Yet as he traversed the country in the last election looking for votes, he kept Besigye at the centre of his message. He promised to release Besigye and other political prisoners if elected.
Our efforts to talk to Munyagwa were futile. He neither picked our calls nor replied to our WhatsApp messages.
Saleh link
The Saleh link has some public background. In a recent column, the Daily Monitor’s Charles Onyango-Obbo said he asked Saleh about the dialogue effort.
Saleh replied by email that Prof Ogenga Otunnu is the author and “the actor is MGB.” The columnist took MGB to mean Munyagwa, who is popularly known as “Mugati gwa Butter.”
On October 30, Saleh, speaking to NRM parliamentary leaders, said he found Besigye in a critical condition and moved him to the JCRC.
Saleh said he had reconnected with Besigye after learning about his illness, and that talks could lead to a resolution within three to six months.
But Wasswa Birigwa, the chairman of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), has insisted in various media interviews that there have been no talks between Besigye or the party and the government. He confirmed that Besigye is being treated at the Lubowa hospital.
Besigye’s wife, Winnie Byanyima, wrote on X on 5 October that “there are no negotiations for Kizza Besigye’s release.
Besigye and his aide, Obeid Lutale, were arrested in Nairobi, Kenya, in November 2024, where they had gone for the launch of Martha Karua’s book. Besigye was abducted in Nairobi on 16 November 2024 and taken to Uganda.
The two resurfaced on 20 November before the General Court Martial at Makindye, charged with offences linked to security and illegal possession of firearms.
On January 31, 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that trying civilians in military courts is unconstitutional.
The case later moved to the High Court. In July, Justice Emmanuel Baguma dismissed an application by Besigye and Lutale to stop the proceedings, saying the evidence of rights violations was too thin.
Besigye is being tried in his absence while on remand at Luzira Prison, and the prosecution is still calling witnesses. He stopped attending after he collapsed in the dock.
