By Mulengera Reporters
Over the years, Dr. Kizza Besigye has been very contemptuous of Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) which he sees as toothless and incapable of protecting and enforcing human rights enjoyment for Ugandan citizens. And this is why it won’t surprise many to learn that the Chairperson Mariam Wangadya has four times sent officials to go and engage with Besigye to assess his situation, only for the Retired Colonel to revolt and refuse to speak to them.
In her two-page letter dated 10th February, Wangadya informs the Byanyima siblings (who had petitioned her on 30th Jan) and the larger Besigye family that the Commission has four times had its officials travel to Luzira as part of their broader mandate to assess and document the human rights situation for prisoners in different parts of the county but Dr. KB has consistently treated them rudely.
Even when this has been the case, Wangadya says her officials and emissaries have been able to, from a distance, observe and conclude that Dr. KB is in good health and there is nothing to worry about. Clearly repeating the talking points of the government officials, Wangadya says that Dr. Besigye is sleeping very well because he was allocated a self-contained room from where he is able to access sufficient aeration because the structure is well ventilated. This contradicts what Dr. KB’s wife Winnie Byanyima has repeatedly been saying, describing the conditions therein as semi-squalid.
Wangadya also says that they are convinced as UHRC that Luzira prison is in position to ensure that Dr. Besigye, himself a medical doctor who twice has had to be rushed to a private clinic in Bugolobi to access more appropriate med-care, gets all the medical services he requires and needs.
The UHRC boss also debunks claims that the State has deliberately delayed the trial which has caused the Retired Colonel to be condemned to the Stalinist and Obote I practice of detaining political opponents without trial. She makes it clear that the state is ready to ensure a speedy trial for Dr. Besigye except that the same has been frustrated by his defense lawyers’ decision to keep filing applications, which in effect have delayed the commencement of the trial, during which Wangadya asserts that the veteran opposition leader should be able to keep asserting his right to bail.
She accuses the defense lawyers of being engaged in a campaign to defeat the trial and prevent the same from ever taking place. She implores the Byanyima siblings to join others in pressurizing the defense lawyers to begin conducting business in a manner that ensures Besigye’s right to a speedy trial is realized and respected.
Insisting that Dr. Besigye is badly off and needs urgent specialized medical attention, the Byanyima siblings have since rejected Wangadya’s explanation and their view is that Wangadya’s letter has only corroborated what they already suspected, namely that the Commission isn’t capable of standing up to the Executive in protection and enforcement of citizens’ human rights as is mandated under the law.
THE VERBATIM OF THEIR LETTER:
On 30th January, Edith Chuchu Byanyima led the rest of the Byanyima siblings in writing to Uganda Human Rights Commission (UHRC) demanding that the Chairperson Mariam F Wangadya urgently exercises her mandate under the Constitution and intervenes into what they termed ongoing violation of medical treatment access-related rights of their in-law Dr. Kizza Besigye by the Ugandan authorities.
We hereunder reproduce the verbatim of the mail the Byanyima siblings communicated and sent to UHRC on 30th January:
Subject: RE: – Formal Complaint to the Uganda Human Rights Commission regarding the critical health status and denial of medical care for Dr Kizza Besigye.
Dear Honorable Chair Person,
We are writing to you as the family of Dr Kizza Besigye currently held at Luzira Prison.
We wish to lodge an urgent complaint regarding the violation of his right to health and the threat to his life under Article 22 and 24 of the Constitution of Uganda.
Despite credible reports of severe illness including high fever, dehydration and a physical inability to walk, Dr Besigye continues to be held in conditions that are worsening his state.
On January 21st 2026, the High Court declined an immediate transfer to a hospital and delayed his next appearance until 24fh February 2026., We fear that he may not survive this delay without intervention.
We formally request the UNHRC to:
- Conduct an immediate visit to Luzira Prison to assess Dr Besigye’s health and living conditions.
- Exercise your mandate to recommend his immediate transfer to a specialized medical facility where he can be attended to by his personal doctors.
- Issue a public statement regarding the status of his medical dignity.
Time is of essence. We look to the commission to uphold the fundamental rights of all Ugandans regardless of their political. standing. Yours Sincerely. Edith Byanyima, Anthony Byanyima, Martha Byanyima, Abraham Byanyima, Olivia Byanyima. (For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
