The Deputy Speaker of Parliament, Thomas Tayebwa, has said that Attorney General (AG) Kiwanuka Kiryowa will give the Parliament updates regarding the well-being of Dr Kizza Besigye.

This comes after Francis Mwijukye, MP for Buhweju County, filed a complaint, questioning if it was procedurally right for Parliament to carry on with business as usual when media outlets consistently report on human rights abuses at Ugandan prisons.

According to Mwijukye, the issue of inmates’ human rights has been brought up in parliament multiple times; they cannot carry on with regular discussion as if they were unaware that Ugandans’ rights in prisons are being violated.

“The issue of Dr. Kizza Besigye has come here several times; pictures of Besigye looking frail and sickly are awash in the media. And therefore, as Parliament, we need to be seen doing something to decide on this issue. I don’t know whether we can use our powers; we have our Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights to understand what is happening in Luzira Prisons concerning Dr. Besigye and other prisoners,” he said.

However, Asuman Basalirwa, the MP of Bugiri Municipality, explained that the government needs to address two issues regarding Besigye’s situation: first, how he was abducted from Kenya to Uganda, and second, whether Luzira has changed its policy of allowing inmates to have caged conversations with their visitors.

He also stated that inmates had previously been free to speak with their visitors until recently when it was revealed that prison warders were listening in on Besigye’s conversations.

Deputy Speaker Tayebwa confirmed the date of the attorney general’s address.

“The issue of Dr. Kizza Besigye, and I think Atkins Katusabe (Bukonzo West) and I confirmed today that the attorney general has received the Hansard I talked to him about, and he confirmed that on Tuesday, he will be ready to come and respond to the issues as they were raised,” Tayebwa stated.

Besigye was arrested at the Riverside Hotel in Kenya on November 16, 2024, with co-accused Obed Kamulegeya, and they are being charged in the Uganda court martial for being found in possession of firearms and rounds of ammunition.