Human rights activists in Kenya stage protests over Kizza Besigye's detention

Human rights activists protesting the detention of Dr Kizza Besigye marching to Parliament. (Justine Ondieki)

By Barack Oduor
Monday, February 24, 2025

The 68-year-old, who appeared frail, ended a hunger strike at Luzira Maximum Security Prison on Friday after the Ugandan government decided to charge him in a civilian court.

Pressure to secure the release of Uganda's foremost opposition leader, Kizza Besigye, from detention intensified on Monday as activists and Kenyan Members of Parliament issued fresh demands regarding the politician's plight.

Human rights activists, led by Houghton Irungu of Amnesty International and Hussein Khalid of Vocal Africa, alongside the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union Secretary-General, Dr Davji Atellah, staged protests in Nairobi and presented a petition to Parliament.

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Human rights activists protesting the detention of Dr Kizza Besigye marching to Parliament. (Justine Ondieki)

Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan and Makueni Senator Dan Maanzo received the protesters at Parliament Buildings and warned that the autocratic tendencies practised by East African governments must be halted immediately.

Dr Atellah, expressing concern over Besigye’s deteriorating health, lamented that it was the Kenyan government that handed over the opposition leader to Uganda.

"Dr Besigye has offered his services to Kenya. He worked at Aga Khan Hospital and Kenyatta National Hospital in the 1980s. It is therefore deeply regrettable that the Kenyan government has played a role in his mistreatment," said Dr Atellah.

Amnesty International’s Irungu cautioned that failure to speak out against the atrocities committed against Besigye would normalise human rights abuses across the East African region.

Kamukunji MP Yusuf Hassan: We would not want an East African Community dominated by authoritarian characters. We want a people-centred, people-based EAC and that's why this particular move of what has happened to Dr Kizza Besigye is a violation of his human rights, democratic… pic.twitter.com/dTWF8Ax16n
— The Eastleigh Voice (@Eastleighvoice) February 24, 2025

Irungu stressed the need for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding Besigye’s arrest and transfer to Kampala, insisting that those responsible for the illegal act, which has brought shame to the country, must be held accountable.

"Our petition calls for an inquiry into why Besigye was abducted and forcibly taken to court on trumped-up charges," said Irungu.

Lawmakers Hassan Yussuf of Kamukunji and Dan Maanzo, the Senator for Makueni, received the protesters at the Parliament Buildings. (Justine Ondieki)

In their petition, the activists urged the National Assembly to acknowledge that abductions and renditions have taken place in Kenya—acts that could constitute crimes under international law—and to ensure they are promptly, thoroughly, impartially, and transparently investigated, with those responsible prosecuted.

"Parliament should urgently summon national security organs to explain the justice and accountability measures taken to investigate the reported abduction and rendition of Kizza Besigye and Hajj Obeid Lutale," said Hussein Khalid of Vocal Africa.