The Uganda Prisons Service has dismissed claims that opposition stalwart Kizza Besigye is on hunger strike while in detention at Luzira Prison.
Prisons spokesperson Frank Baine while speaking to the media on February 13, 2025, at parliamentary avenue, said that Dr Besigye has been consuming his meals regularly.
“To the best of my knowledge, Dr. Kizza Besigye has had all his meals in the past. If he has started a hunger strike, that would be today after the instigation of maybe his lawyers who visited him yesterday (February 12),” Baine stated.
He clarified that Besigye receives food from trusted individuals, ensuring he has control over its preparation and access.
According to Baine, Uganda Prisons Service has 79,390 prisoners, and they are all entitled to food, shelter, and health. They are also supposed to access justice, and Rtd. Col. Kizza Besigye is one of them.
Baine described the reports as politically motivated attempts to tarnish the reputation of the Uganda Prisons Service.
Besigye, four-time presidential candidate, was remanded by the General Court Martial last year on November 20,2024 on charges of treachery—an offense that carries the maximum penalty of death—and illegal possession of firearms.
He is also accused of soliciting support for activities deemed a threat to national security.
Reports from his close associates, including his wife Winnie Byanyima, suggested that he had refused to eat, signaling a possible hunger strike.
