{"id":43255,"date":"2025-02-11T08:37:08","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T13:37:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/detained-ugandan-politician-starts-hunger-strike\/11\/02\/2025\/"},"modified":"2025-02-11T08:37:08","modified_gmt":"2025-02-11T13:37:08","slug":"detained-ugandan-politician-starts-hunger-strike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/detained-ugandan-politician-starts-hunger-strike\/11\/02\/2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Detained Ugandan politician starts hunger strike"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Detained Ugandan opposition politician Kizza Besigye has begun a hunger strike as his time spent in detention awaiting trial nears three months.<\/p>\n

Besigye, 68, was charged in a military court with possession of pistols and attempting to purchase weapons abroad – accusations which he denies.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, an aide from Besigye’s political movement, the People’s Front for Freedom (PFF), told the BBC: “We believe he is protesting because he should not still be in prison – he should be home.”<\/p>\n

Besigye’s trial was initially postponed until January – it is now unclear when the court case will begin.<\/p>\n

Besigye used to be a personal doctor for Uganda’s longtime president, Yoweri Museveni, but went on to become an opposition leader.<\/p>\n

He has contested and lost four presidential elections against Museveni, who has been in power since 1986. The veteran opposition figure has previously accused the Ugandan authorities of political persecution.<\/p>\n

He has been less active in politics in recent years, and did not contest the 2021 election.<\/p>\n

However, Besigye returned to the headlines last month after he was dramatically abducted while visiting Kenya and forcibly taken to Uganda.<\/p>\n

The detention sparked widespread condemnation and fears of a clandestine exchange of intelligence between the two neighbours<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Besigye was then charged along with an aide, Obeid Lutale. Mr Lutale also denied the charges.<\/p>\n

In a landmark ruling last month, Uganda’s Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional for military courts to try civilians, ordering the transfer of all such cases to civilian courts.<\/p>\n

The move angered President Museveni, who dismissed it as “a wrong decision” and vowed to challenge the ruling.<\/p>\n

Besigye has had various other run-ins with the law.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the opposition politician was expected to appear before a civilian court for a hearing on a 2022 case in which he is accused of holding an unlawful demonstration. However, he did not attend the hearing, citing health reasons.<\/p>\n

In 2005, Besigye was arrested while returning from a political rally ahead of the 2006 presidential polls and charged with treason. The charges were thrown out by the courts.<\/p>\n

He was also charged with rape in a separate case. The charges were later dropped. He said all the allegations were part of a campaign of political persecution.<\/p>\n

Museveni has defended the use of military courts to try civilians.<\/p>\n

He said any crime involving a gun was dealt with in a military court to ensure the country’s stability as civilian courts took too long to deal with cases.<\/p>\n

Opposition parties have frequently complained about restrictions on political activities, alleging that Museveni fears political competition.<\/p>\n

Museveni’s supporters deny the allegation, and say he has maintained stability during his rule of almost 40 years.<\/p>\n

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