Many people in Uganda woke up on Monday to news that the home of Erias Lukwago, the respected lawyer and former lord mayor of Kampala, had been surrounded by military men. Outside, two vans popularly known as Drones were on standby. Lukwago’s wife, Zawedde Lubwama, later told journalists she tried to stop the men who…
Dr Kizza Besigye, the opposition behemoth who has been in detention for more than one year, is unlikely to regain his freedom before the conclusion of court proceedings against him, the minister of Information Dr Chris Baryomunsi, has said. Speaking to journalists after being sworn in for a fourth term as Kinkizi East MP, Baryomunsi…
Two prominent people have named their children after Dr Kizza Besigye, the former FDC president. One of them is Simon Muyanga Lutaaya, a journalist-cum-politician, who was once a staunch supporter of Besigye. Lutaaya decamped to NRM. The second is a female politician, who, like Lutaaya, has since left FDC. Which two prominent independence-era politicians died…
Opposition leaders used the 70th birthday of veteran politician Dr Kizza Besigye to call for a strategic reset in their push for political change in Uganda, signalling renewed efforts to unify and redefine their approach against the ruling establishment. The event, held on Katonga Road in Kampala, brought together politicians from across the opposition spectrum,…
There is a version of Yusuf Nsibambi that many Ugandans over the age of 40 remember with something close to fondness. For me, it was during the 2001 elections when he came to Bulo in Butambala district to campaign for Dr Kizza Besigye during one of the most heated and violent elections Uganda has witnessed….
The arrest of Maj Gen Don Nabasa and Brig Johnson Namanya last week on the orders of Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba has raised more than a few eyebrows within Uganda’s political and security circles. Gen Nabasa once commanded the Special Forces Command SFC), and during the campaigns for the 2016 general elections, he was the overall…
The treason case against Dr Kizza Besigye was adjourned to March 12 after the court directed the prosecution to complete disclosure of its evidence to the defence. Justice Emmanuel Baguma said the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) must file full disclosure by March 3 before the matter can proceed. “I have heard that the prosecution…
Winnie Byanyima has accused President Museveni of ordering Lubaga Cathedral not to hold a special Mass that had been organised to pray for her detained husband, Dr. Kizza Besigye, and other political prisoners. The mass, which had been organised by Dr. Besigye’s family, was scheduled to take place at Lubaga Cathedral today (Monday, February 23)…
Winnie Byanyima has said she is open to negotiations if it will secure the release of her husband, Dr. Kizza Besigye. Speaking to the media at the couple’s home in Kasangati, Byanyima, the executive director of UNAIDS, said any dialogue over what she described as political questions surrounding her husband’s detention must involve a credible…
Dr Michael Lulume Bayiga, the vice-chairperson of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), has accused President Museveni and his son, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, of subjecting Dr Kizza Besigye to continued political persecution by keeping him in detention despite his deteriorating health. Lulume, who is also the outgoing Member of Parliament for Buikwe South in Buikwe…
Government has said National Unity Platform (NUP) leader Robert Kyagulanyi aka Bobi Wine, is free to move and return to his home, dismissing claims that he is being hunted. The minister for Information and National Guidance, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, said the continued deployment of security personnel at Kyagulanyi’s home in Magere is purely for surveillance…
Winnie Byanyima has appealed to the government to allow her husband, veteran opposition figure Dr Kizza Besigye, to access proper medical care, saying his health is rapidly deteriorating while in detention. Speaking to journalists at their home in Kasangati, Byanyima, the executive director of UNAIDS, said it was inhumane for the state to keep her…
President Museveni has told many untruths in his political life. He once claimed to oppose life presidency, arguing that leaders who never leave power are Africa’s problem. He later removed both term and age limits. He alleged that the National Unity Platform stole his votes in the 2021 presidential election, despite being in charge of…
He was partly mentored by Dr Kizza Besigye (and even briefly stayed at his home in Mbuya). He was an active member of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). However, when he was organising his wedding in the 2000s, he invited most senior FDC officials to his wedding apart from Besigye. He said inviting Besigye…
When Dr Kizza Besigye beat the 24-hour security surveillance and fled to exile after the 2001 elections, Museveni was very furious. Museveni suspected that Besigye had been aided by some people, high up in government. Which army officer carried Otafiire in a sack when UPDF and Rwanda troops clashed in Kisangani? But he zeroed one…
The chairperson of the Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC), Mariam Wangadya, has accused Dr Kizza Besigye and his co accused, Obeid Lutale, of contributing to the delays in their own trial and prolonging their stay in prison. Wangadya made the remarks in an interview with Bbeg Media on the sidelines of a joint press briefing…
In late May 2025, two activists, Boniface Mwangi and Agather Atuhaire revealed how they had been tortured and raped in Tanzanian custody. The Kenyan and Ugandan activist had travelled to Dar-es-Salaam to demonstrate solidarity for the country’s main opposition leader, Tundu Lissu, who had a court appearance. Lissu faces treason charges he calls trumped up,…
Bugweri MP Abdu Katuntu’s long march to the NRM started in 2010. It had to do with the internal politics of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC), a party he had helped found and of which he had been an active member. As FDC prepared for the delegates’ conference, Katuntu expressed interest in standing for…
In a dramatic courtroom confrontation, veteran opposition leader Dr Kizza Besigye turned the tables on the presiding judge during proceedings in his high-profile treason case, effectively putting the judiciary itself under scrutiny. Besigye, who has been detained for nearly a year alongside co-accused, used his appearance before Justice Emmanuel Baguma at the High Court to…
Today, 24 September 2025, is the second nomination day for presidential candidates in Uganda. And yet, I find myself asking whether this is September 2025 or December 2005. President Yoweri Museveni, of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), was nominated yesterday, the 7th time he will appear on the ballot paper as a presidential candidate…
The mood at the new Electoral Commission (EC) headquarters today in Lweza was quiet. At 10 am, President Museveni, aged 81, arrived with First Lady Janet Museveni. With a few aides and security guards, he handed in his nomination papers as the National Resistance Movement (NRM) candidate for the January 2026 election. Justice Simon Byabakama, the…
The People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) announced today that it will not put forward its own candidate for the 2026 presidential elections. The decision comes as the country grapples with increasing political tensions. At a press briefing today, the PFF explained that this choice is part of a bigger effort to create a single, powerful…
For over three decades, Northern Uganda was a fortress of opposition against the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM). The scars of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) conflict ran deep, turning elections into battlegrounds of resentment. Yet over the last three election cycles, the region has shifted, politically. Peace has washed away old grudges, and today,…
President Museveni has dominated Uganda’s political scene for nearly four decades. This is not news. Here is what is: During this time, a pattern has emerged within the National Resistance Movement (NRM), a party that he leads and shepherds like a personal kiosk: prominent figures face humiliation, demotion, or even legal troubles, yet they rarely…
Dr. Michael Lulume Bayigga, the vice president of the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), has criticized High Court Judge Justice Emmanuel Baguma for denying bail to PFF founder, Dr. Kizza Besigye, despite the expiration of the mandatory 180-day detention period. Speaking at a press conference at the PFF’s Katonga Road offices in Kampala, Bayigga condemned…
Since his incarceration in November 2024 over charges of treason, veteran opposition behemoth Dr. Kizza Besigye has endured trying times. His main lawyer, Martha Karua, had to be tossed up and down to secure a practicing licence while the case was still in the General Court Martial. His other lawyer, Eron Kiiza, was abruptly detained…
Leaders from the Alliance for National Transformation, Conservative Party (CP), People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and National Economic Empowerment Dialogue (NEED) have urged the opposition to unite ahead of the 2026 elections. They made the call at the first national convention of the newly registered People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) party at Katonga Road. The leaders,…
Dr. Kizza Besigye, one of the founders of the newly registered People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), has accused the government of constitutional abuses leading to youth unemployment and military interference in politics. Speaking from Luzira prison, where he has been incacerated for seven months, Besigye claimed that a few individuals and institutions, including private entities…
Yesterday, Gen Mugisha Muntu, president of the Alliance for National Transformation (ANT), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) at Hotel Africana in Kampala, marking a significant step toward opposition unity in Uganda. The agreement, signed by Alice Alaso on behalf of ANT and Erias Lukwago on behalf of…
An otherwise capricious political group, the so-called National Unity Platform (NUP) just passed off what it called its national delegates conference at which top party-political entrepreneurs were crowned, retaining their coveted seats, during which the media was sealed out. And the Uganda media houses, their journalists, and those that pass for political critics seeking genuine…
Timothy Kalyegira, a renowned social and political critic, replied to a post on X yesterday by saying he was “hiding in the basement.” Why? Hours earlier, Gen Muhoozi Kainerugaba, the Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), had written that he was ready to pay Shs 10 million to anybody who could deliver Kalyegira to him. Kalyegira…
The People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) has slammed the country’s celebration of Heroes Day saying it has been turned into a partisan event by the NRM. During a press briefing, the party said the event was too costly noting that Shs 5 billion had been budgeted for handouts and dignitary allowances. “The Uganda Revenue Authority…
Lt Gen Henry Tumukunde, the former minister of Security, has revealed that he visited Dr Kizza Besigye in Luzira Prison and urged him to talk to President Museveni if he wants to secure his freedom. Speaking to journalists after picking his nomination forms at the NRM headquaters along Kyadondo Road, Tumukunde said: “I have talked…
A violent brawl broke out this morning at Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court between supporters of Dr. Kizza Besigye and security personnel. The clash began when Ingrid Turinawe, a mobilizer for the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), was assaulted by a plainclothes police officer who accused her of secretly filming him. In the ensuing chaos, the…
The curtains have fallen on the life of Sam Omalla, a colourful and dramatic officer who came to the limelight after he contained Dr Kizza Besigye during the walk-to-work protests in 2011. Omalla, who had retired at the rank of Assistant Commissioner of Police, passed away this morning at Mulago Hospital, where he had battled…
The body language of the gathered leaders from the Peoples’ Front for Freedom (PFF) was ominous at today’s press conference. When Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, the pressure group’s spokesperson, said they would storm the offices of the Electoral Commission (EC) to protest the delay in registering the group as a political party, he said it with…
The People’s Front for Freedom, a political pressure group allied to Dr Kizza Besigye, has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of frustrating their attempts to register as a political party. The group’s spokesperson, Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda, told journalists they had fulfilled all the requirements but the EC had not acted. He said if the EC…
Dr Kizza Besigye will have to spend more time in jail after the High Court denied him bail today. Besigye and his co-accused Obeid Lutale face treason charges for which they were held last year by the military court. Today, hundreds of his supporters gathered at the court, many of whom expected that the duo…
Eron Kiiza, a human rights advocate, has been granted bail, three months after he was convicted by the General Court Martial for contempt of court. Kiiza is appealing the ruling. High court judge Michael Elubu told Kiiza to deposit Shs 20 million as a bond. His three sureties were given a noncash bond of Shs…
The motor-mouthed Andrew Mujuni Mwenda was once one of Uganda’s most celebrated journalists. Mwenda made a name for himself in the early 2000s through his incisive political analysis and bold reporting. His talk show, Andrew Mwenda Live on KFM, was a staple for Ugandans interested in governance and democracy. He often took on the powerful,…
Phew! Have you caught your breath yet? 2025 is threatening to be the shortest 12 months we have ever had in a long time. Nearly every day brings with it an event whose impact will take years to unpack but we have to move on quickly because of what happens next. A quick rundown! Besigye…
Former FDC leader, Dr Kizza Besigye, has been slapped with fresh treason charges at Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court. Besigye was wheeled into court at 9.30 am today amid tight security. He was charged alongside Obeid Lutale and UPDF officer Capt. Denis Oola. Besigye’s lawyers and many of his supporters were caught unaware of the development…
On Friday, February 14, Ugandans were shocked when retired Colonel Dr. Kizza Besigye appeared in court looking gaunt and frail. Dr. Besigye was offered a chair to sit by a prison warder as he waited for the hearing of his trial in court to proceed. He seemed visibly out of breath and had lost a…
The Court has sent Dr. Kizza Besigye back to Luzira after it heard the presiding judge, Douglas Singiza, said the former FDC leader was unwell and need not have been paraded in court. “He is unwell and should be taken back to prison. “This is an administrative order. If a prisoner is sick, I can’t…
President Museveni has said incarcerated opposition lynchpin Dr Kizza Besigye does not require forgiveness but a quick trial to get out of his current ordeal. Commenting on Besigye’s predicament for the first time, the president acknowledged the public anxiety surrounding his detention but maintained that the key question should be: “Why was Dr. Besigye arrested?”…
Actors within the civil society space have called for the unconditional release of Dr. Kizza Besigye amid concerns about his failing health. At a press briefing held at the Center for Constitutional Governance, members argued that Besigye’s continued detention was not only a violation of his rights but it was also a slap in the…
Dr. Kizza Besigye’s frail physical appearance in court last week brought some to tears, raising fears that the worst could happen to the opposition behemoth. In a panic, a minister went to visit him at Luzira, and Besigye was finally rushed to a clinic in Bugolobi yesterday amid tight security. His condition remains precarious, according…
Dr Kizza Besigye today appeared before Buganda Road Magistrates Court but his physical outlook sent many people into whispers. Dressed in a checkered shirt, a frail-looking Besigye kept glancing at people from the dock without his usual demeanor and confidence. It was clear that he had lost weight. Many people at the court were shocked…
