The People’s Front for Freedom (PFF) party has announced its intention to hold a peaceful demonstration and procession to the Office of the Chief Justice on Monday, September 14th, 2026, to demand the release of its detained leaders, Dr. Kizza Besigye and Erias Lukwago.
The announcement was made by the PFF’s interim Executive Chairman, Dr. Lulume Bayiga while addressing the press on Monday, September 7th, 2026, at the party’s headquarters on Katonga Road in Kampala.
According to Bayiga, the party has already written to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Abas Byakagaba, formally notifying him of their intention to march in protest against the continued incarceration of their leaders, who are facing treason charges before the High Court.
Bayiga said the procession will start at 11:00 am at Katonga Road, with senior party leaders marching to the Office of the Chief Justice to deliver a formal petition. The petition, he said, will request the judiciary to grant bail to Besigye, Lukwago and other political prisoners to allow them access to specialized medical care outside prison.
“We decided to march to the Office of the Chief Justice after all our efforts to meet him to discuss the detention of our colleagues failed. It is our constitutional right under Article 29 to hold a peaceful procession and deliver our petition,” Bayiga stated.
The PFF leader expressed dissatisfaction with how Justice Emmanuel Baguma is handling the treason case, alleging judicial bias and prolonged detention without timely bail consideration. He further claimed that the evidence being presented by state witnesses against Besigye is fabricated, describing it as a product of a “pseudo-military operation” allegedly launched by the state with the intention of keeping Besigye in prison for life.
Besigye, a four-time presidential candidate, was abducted in Nairobi, Kenya, in November 2024 and has been in detention for over 650 days. His continued detention has sparked both domestic and regional protests, including a recent threat by Ugandans in Kenya to stage a nationwide demonstration in Nairobi on September 3rd.
In an unusual appeal, Bayiga said the party does not expect members of the general public to join the march, and asked police to collaborate with them to block other Ugandans from joining the procession. He insisted the march should remain a leaders-only action.
This will be the second major political action by the newly formed PFF, after its earlier declaration of Wednesday as a weekly day of action where supporters would wear national flag colours to protest Besigye’s detention. That campaign has, however, struggled to gain momentum, largely due to a lack of funding and poor grassroots mobilization.
By press time, the Uganda Police Force had not yet responded to PFF’s notification letter.
