The wife of Col. Dr. Kizza Besigye, Winnie Byanyima, has pleaded with President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni of Uganda, requesting the release of her husband, a political opponent of the current regime.
Byanyima made her appeal after the Ugandan judiciary rejected Besigye’s request for bail.
Besigye, the leader of the opposition party FDC, has been in detention since the end of last year. He faces serious charges including high treason and attempting to overthrow President Museveni’s government by force.
He was arrested in Nairobi, Kenya.
After Besigye was denied bail on Thursday, Byanyima declared, “This is not justice.”
She continued her plea to President Museveni, saying, “My husband and his co-accused have spent over 180 days in prison. The law permits their release on bail, yet the court has denied it.”
“The only crime they have committed is disagreeing politically. I beg President Museveni to deliver justice — not just for my husband, but for all political prisoners who are being held without trial.”
Colonel Besigye maintains that the charges against him are politically motivated.
However, if he and his co-accused are found guilty, they could be sentenced to life imprisonment.
