The veteran opposition politician was arraigned alongside his 'comrade,' Hajj Obeid Lutale, and remanded until December 2 on charges related to security, including illegal possession of two pistols and eight rounds of ammunition.
The prosecution told the General Court Martial, chaired by Brig. Freeman Mugabe, that the two committed the offences in Nairobi (Kenya), Athens (Greece), and Geneva (Switzerland).
In the first count, the prosecution alleges that Besigye, Lutale, and other suspects still at large held meetings in Geneva, Athens, and Nairobi between October 2023 and November 2024 to solicit logistical support and identify military targets in Uganda, with the intent to undermine the security of the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF).
In the second and third counts, the two are accused of illegally possessing two pistols, contrary to Uganda's Firearms Act, at Riverside Apartments in Nairobi, Kenya, on November 16, 2024. The prosecution alleges that they were found with two pistols: one model 27KAL No. 765 and another HB 10414 1953, which are ordinarily the monopoly of the Defence Forces.
They also face an additional count of unlawful possession of eight rounds of ammunition.
The defence lodged a primary objection to the charges, arguing that the charge sheet was defective since the alleged offences were committed outside the jurisdiction of the UPDF and Uganda's army.
'All the acts highlighted in this charge sheet do not constitute criminal offences under the laws of Uganda. The UPDF Act is not applicable in Kenya, Switzerland, or Greece. Unlawful possession of firearms? Firearms Act of which country? The charge sheet is ambiguous in nature. This is a defective charge sheet that should not sustain any criminal proceedings before this tribunal. It's our prayer that this honourable tribunal strikes out this charge sheet accordingly,' the lead counsel for the defence, Erias Lukwago, told the court.
Lawyer Lukwago further argued that the accused persons had travelled to Kenya lawfully for a legitimate meeting.
The martial court ordered Besigye and Lutale to be remanded to prison until December 2, 2024, when their case will be mentioned.
Reports of Besigye's arrest went viral on Tuesday night following revelations by his wife that he had been abducted from Nairobi and was being held in a military detention facility.
Winnie Byanyima, the Executive Director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), condemned the detention and called for her husband's immediate release.
'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,' Byanyima said in a post on X. She added, 'We, his family and his lawyers, demand to see him. He is not a soldier. Why is he being held in a military jail?'
Human rights groups in Nairobi have questioned the circumstances surrounding Kizza Besigye's abduction, accusing Kenyan authorities of complicity in the act.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
