Kenyan activists in Nairobi call for release of Uganda’s Besigye
A group of activists gathered in Nairobi on Thursday to demand the release of Ugandan opposition leader Kizza Besigye, a day after he collapsed during a court appearance in Kampala, according to Africanews.
Besigye, a physician and former military officer, is one of Uganda’s most prominent opposition figures. He has run against President Yoweri Museveni in multiple elections over the past two decades and has been arrested and detained on several occasions. Human rights groups have accused Ugandan authorities of using the judiciary to silence political opponents, a charge the government has generally denied.
The Nairobi demonstration reflects the cross-border nature of East African civil society activism. Kenyan campaigners have periodically rallied in solidarity with political figures detained in neighbouring countries, reflecting Nairobi’s long-standing role as a hub for exiled opposition voices from across the region.
Kenya and Uganda share close political and economic ties through the East African Community framework, though bilateral relations have periodically been strained by disputes over trade, security, and the movement of people across their shared border. Public demonstrations in one country on behalf of a detained figure in another underscore how debates over democratic governance in East Africa often play out beyond national frontiers.
The circumstances of Besigye’s collapse in the courtroom were not detailed in the Africanews report. His previous detentions have drawn criticism from international human rights organisations, which have called for due process and protection from what they describe as politically motivated prosecution. Thursday’s gathering in Nairobi added regional pressure to those longstanding demands.
Sources
This report was written from coverage published by the following news organisations. Follow the links for the original reporting.
